MNS: Steamless engine in yard
- Quaid Najmi
- Mar 20
- 2 min read
Mumbai: When Swararaj Shrikant Thackeray, or Raj, launched the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) with fanfare 20 years ago, there was widespread optimism that his ‘steam engine’ symbol would travel far in politics, trigger realignments and perhaps emerge as a viable alternative in Maharashtra.
Raj’s dramatic break from his illustrious mentor and uncle, the late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray, and a split from cousin Uddhav Thackeray created more than ripples — it unleashed a wave of expectations. After all, compared with the soft-spoken Uddhav, he was a firebrand orator with a sharp political instinct.
Two decades on, the MNS is jostling for relevance - much like a commuter trying to board an overcrowded local at Dadar - in a formidable, competitive and unforgiving political landscape. The ‘steam engine’, barely having had a steamy roll, has lost much of its early sting.
Political ‘siding’
Albeit marginalised but still counted as relevant, Raj, now 57, is attempting a reset of goals - his recent speeches at Raigad Fort and in Mumbai signal an effort to craft a fresh political blueprint.
The first signs of this emerged in mid-2025, when Raj and Uddhav buried the hatchet after over two decades of estrangement. The Thackeray cousins joined hands for the January 2026 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Yet, as debates continue over who really gained from the alliance, the outcome was clear: the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ceded ground to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, which captured the BMC - ending the nearly three-decade-long Shiv Sena rule over the civic body.
Undeterred, Raj is building up the MNS and readying to embrace a changed political and social landscape, where a new generation of voters - Gen Z and even Gen Alpha - shape electoral outcomes, driven by aspirations and ambitions.
‘Twenty years ago, when the Marathi voice was fading, the MNS sparked an awakening through agitations and elections,’ Raj said last week, reminding how the party championed regional identity.
Poor Record
Nevertheless, the MNS’ electoral record highlights its shrinking political fortunes - it peaked in the 2009 Assembly elections, when it won 13 of 288 seats. Thereafter, the slide was steep and consistent - no seats in 2014, a solitary MLA in 2019, and virtual insignificance by 2024. The MNS has never won a Lok Sabha seat.
Several factors were responsible for this - Raj’s perceived ideological inconsistency; his pro- and anti-BJP political ding-dongs blurred the party’s identity; its core plank overlapped with that of the Shiv Sena, limiting options for supporters. His aggressive rhetoric, particularly targeting North Indians in earlier years and later Muslims, alienated potential allies and voters, while a missing organisational structure beyond a few urban pockets in Mumbai, Pune and Nashik left the party stunted.
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