Mumbai: After two decades of estrangement, Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj formally united in an electoral alliance Wednesday ahead of municipal corporation polls across Maharashtra.
The alliance will serve as a crucial litmus test for both Thackerays, whose parties face an existential crisis. Mumbai, the birthplace of Shiv Sena, has always held a special place in the Thackeray family’s political imagination. The party first captured power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in 1985, then governed the country’s richest civic body continuously from 1997 to 2022.
Until 2017, the BJP remained part of the Shiv Sena alliance. That year, however, the party contested separately, mounting a formidable challenge.
This time, with a fractured Shiv Sena and a resurgent BJP, the Thackerays face their toughest electoral battle yet. Uddhav is banking on the traditional Marathi votebank alongside Muslim voters who supported Shiv Sena (UBT) during the Lok Sabha elections.
The Thackerays, alongside the Pawars, rank amongst Maharashtra’s oldest political dynasties. A look at the Thackeray clan.
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Prabodhankar Thackeray (1885-1973)
Born Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, he emerged as a social reformer, socialist, writer and politician who fought against untouchability, superstition, dowry and child marriage. He founded the Marathi magazine Prabodhan (enlightenment), which later lent him the name “Prabodhankar”.
A fierce critic of Brahmanical dominance, his political engagement intensified when he became a leading figure in the Samyukt Maharashtra movement, advocating for Mumbai to remain part of Maharashtra on linguistic grounds. He coined the name “Shiv Sena” for Bal Thackeray’s outfit.
He fathered eight children: Bal Thackeray, younger brothers Shrikant and Ramesh, and five daughters. Of his daughters, Sanjeevani Karandikar shared a close bond with Bal Thackeray and worked with the Reserve Bank of India.
“Uddhav Thackeray is following his grandfather’s footsteps and want to see Shiv Sena touch upon the reformist way,” said a Shiv Sena functionary close to the Thackerays.
Bal Thackeray (1926-2012)
Prabodhankar’s eldest son began his professional journey as a journalist with the English daily Free Press Journal, crafting political satirical cartoons. He left to establish his own political weekly, Marmik, through which he highlighted issues confronting the Marathi Manoos and the growing influence of non-Marathis in Mumbai’s employment sector.
To further his cause, he founded the Shiv Sena in 1966.
The party’s first public meeting was held that October on Dussehra at the iconic Shivaji Park ground.
Veteran Shiv Sainik Subhash Desai had told ThePrint of that day: “One of his advisors was against holding it at Shivaji Park, fearing they might not be able to fill the grounds. But Balasaheb said, ‘Whatever has to happen, let it happen on that ground only, at least because of it, I will get to know if I am right or wrong.’”
Against all expectations, the ground overflowed with supporters, cementing Bal Thackeray’s position in the Marathi manoos’ heart. An annual Dussehra rally became tradition thereafter.
Beyond championing Marathi causes, he founded the Lokadhikar Samiti to help Marathi youth prepare for government examinations and secure employment.
The 1980s marked a shift as Shiv Sena pivoted from Marathi identity politics towards Hindutva. Following the 1992-93 Bombay riots, Bal Thackeray adopted a hardline Hindutva stance. He was barred from voting and contesting elections for six years in the late 1990s for seeking votes in the name of religion.
In 1988, he founded the Marathi daily Saamna, which remains the party’s mouthpiece.
Known for his flamboyant persona, Thackeray famously smoked cigars and favoured red wine, which he claimed was beneficial for the heart—habits he never concealed.
At his peak, dignitaries visiting Mumbai and India, including politicians like L.K. Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, would call on him at his home, Matoshree.
Married to Meena Thackeray, the couple had three sons: Bindumadhav (the eldest), Jaidev and Uddhav (the youngest). He died in November 2012.
Uddhav Thackeray
The youngest son of Bal Thackeray inherited his father’s political legacy. A photographer by profession, Uddhav was reluctantly drawn into Shiv Sena politics from the early 1990s, handling operations from behind the scenes.
In 2003, Bal Thackeray declared him working president, signalling his intention for Uddhav to carry forward the party’s legacy—a decision that embittered relations between Uddhav and his cousin Raj.
From 2003 onwards, Uddhav actively participated in party affairs. After his father’s death, he continued leading Shiv Sena as party chief.
The Shiv Sena, Maharashtra’s dominant regional force and BJP’s political partner, saw this alliance fracture during the 2014 assembly elections—the first poll after Bal Thackeray’s death. Despite the split, Shiv Sena recorded its best-ever performance, winning 63 seats in the 288-member state Assembly.
The parties formed a post-poll alliance to govern the state, but bickering persisted. In 2017, they contested the BMC elections separately for the first time—Uddhav’s first municipal election as party leader.
Relations deteriorated completely in 2019 over an alleged promise of a two-and-a-half-year chief ministerial term, which the BJP denies. It marked the end of the BJP-Shiv Sena partnership.
Uddhav eventually joined hands with the Congress and NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, becoming chief minister and the first Thackeray to occupy the post.
But, fortunes reversed in June 2022 when Eknath Shinde, a trusted aide, engineered a vertical split in the party
In the 2024 assembly elections, Uddhav’s Sena won just 20 out of 288 seats—the party’s worst-ever performance.
Perceived as mild-mannered, Uddhav’s ideological stand and leadership style diverges from that of his father, who was known for not mincing his words and thundering when he spoke.
Uddhav is married to Rashmi Thackeray and has two sons: Aaditya, who is active in politics and currently an MLA, and Tejas, who pursues wildlife research and runs the Thackeray foundation.
Bindumadhav Thackeray
Bal Thackeray’s eldest son died in a car accident in the 1990s. He has one son, Nihar Thackeray, who is an advocate.
Jaidev Thackeray
Bal Thackeray’s second son has been married three times. His first wife was Jayashree Kalelkar, daughter of a Marathi litterateur. The couple divorced in the 1990s, after which Jaidev’s relations with the Thackeray family began to sour. He has a son from his first marriage.
Jaidev later married Smita Thackeray, a film producer who now runs the NGO Mukti Foundation. They have two children—a son and a daughter. Following his mother Meena Thackeray’s death in 1996, Jaidev moved out of Matoshree, but Smita continued living there until their divorce was finalised in 2004.
He is now married to Anuradha Thackeray, with whom he has a daughter. Jaidev is a painter, and is believed to have stayed away from politics due to strained relations with Bal Thackeray.
Shrikant Thackeray (1930-2003)
Prabodhankar’s son and Raj Thackeray’s father possessed talents in both arts and music. Primarily a music composer, he also worked as a writer and journalist, and played the violin.
He became editor of Marmik, the magazine Bal Thackeray had founded. Before venturing into music independently, Shrikant worked briefly at All India Radio in Mumbai. As a composer, he created ghazals and collaborated with artists like Mohammad Rafi.
He married Kunda Thackeray, sister of Meena Thackeray, Bal’s wife. He died in 2003.
Raj Thackeray
Shrikant Thackeray’s son, Raj, entered politics early and shared a close relationship with Bal Thackeray—so close that many assumed Raj would inherit Bal’s political mantle. He actively participated in Shiv Sena’s operations from a young age.
But, when Uddhav was declared working president of the Shiv Sena in 2003, Raj felt slighted. He quit the party in 2004 and founded the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in 2006.
The party attracted considerable attention. In its first assembly election in 2009, it won 13 seats and, at its peak, was elected to the Nashik Municipal Corporation. Since 2014, however, the party’s prevalence has waned.
Raj is known for frequently changing his political stance. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he supported the Opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi but later switched to endorsing and praising the PM. He adopted hard Hindutva rhetoric, which continued until 2024 when he backed Modi for prime minister—only to resume criticising him shortly after.
His party now clings to relevance. He is married to Sharmila Thackeray, daughter of a Marathi cinema photographer. They have two children: son Amit, who is in politics, and daughter Urvashi, who works in the fashion industry.
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Aaditya Thackeray
The Worli MLA was appointed Yuva Sena chief—the party’s youth wing—by his grandfather at a public rally in 2010 at the age of 20. The Yuva Sena addresses issues in colleges, universities and other youth-related matters.
In 2019, Aaditya became the first Thackeray to contest an assembly election, winning comfortably. In the MVA government, he served as tourism and environment minister. He frequently speaks on urban issues, the environment, education and city planning.
Re-elected in 2024, though with a reduced margin, Aaditya has been tasked with securing Mumbai’s municipal corporation for Shiv Sena.
Tejas Thackeray
Uddhav’s younger son is a conservationist and wildlife researcher who runs the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation. He and his foundation have been involved in discovering various wildlife species.
To his credit, he has named a crab, a snake and a gecko after the family name. His latest discovery is a new species—a hairy snail in the Tilari forest region in Maharashtra.
He tours the state and has travelled from the Sahyadris to the Eastern Ghats, Arunachal Pradesh, the Andamans, Indonesia and several other locations.
Though he denies harbouring political ambitions, he regularly attends Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rallies and other significant party events, fuelling speculation about a potential future entry into politics.
Amit Thackeray
Raj Thackeray’s son is active in MNS affairs. He contested his first assembly election in 2024 but lost.
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