The Thackerays have been in control of Maharashtra’s political landscape for almost fifty years. The Thackeray cousins, Aaditya and Amit, joined the competition in the 2024 assembly elections representing Worli and Mahim, respectively.
Aaditya secured a re-election in Worli, while Amit Thackeray, who was running in his first election in Mahim, placed third. The destiny of the Thackeray cousins, on the other hand, is believed to be influenced by their uncles.
Despite Aaditya crediting his uncle Raj Thackeray for his win, Amit faults his uncle Uddhav Thackeray for his defeat, highlighting the intricate family dynamics in Indian politics. Both Worli and Mahim, which were seen as strongholds of the undivided Sena, witnessed three-way competitions.
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In Worli, Aaditya Thackeray was in competition with Shiv Sena veteran and Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora. According to political analysts, Deora, a former Union Minister with significant clout in the Mumbai South area, was deemed to have the advantage. Even though Aaditya won the Worli constituency in 2019 with a vote share of 72.7 per cent.
Nonetheless, in the current election, Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) decided to put forward Sandeep Deshpande as their candidate, despite not having nominated anyone in 2019. The decision appears to have complicated things for Deora. Aaditya secured victory with a lead of 8,801 votes against Deora. Aaditya received 63,324 votes, while Deora got 54,523 votes. Sandeep Deshpande from MNS secured third place with 19,367 votes.
In the same way, Mahim witnessed a three-way competition involving Shinde Sena, the Sena (UBT), and the MNS. Even though Mahesh Sawant from Shiv Sena (UBT) won narrowly against Eknath Shinde Sena’s Sada Sarvankar by 1,316 votes, Amit Thackeray finished a faraway third.
