Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), has said the party must prepare for a bigger and longer fight to save Mumbai. Speaking at a closed-door meeting of party leaders and workers, Thackeray said projects such as the bullet train terminal planned at Bandra (near Dharavi) and the proposed Vadhavan Port in Palghar are deliberate attempts to shift business away from Mumbai and weaken the city.

According to party sources, in a veiled reference to the Adani Group and the BJP, Thackeray hinted that big corporate interests were trying to take control of Mumbai with help from the ruling regime.