BMC Election 2026: Raj Thackeray alleges widespread attempts to buy votes

In a highdecibel joint rally in Thane on Monday with his cousin Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS chief Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena while alleging widespread attempts to buy votes ahead of the upcoming civic pollsThe MNS chief claimed that money was being openly distributed to influence candidatesldquoThree members of one family were offered Rs 15 crore collectively but they refused to switch sides Two of our other candidates Rajshree Naik and Susheel Awte were offered Rs 5 crore and Rs 1 crore but they too turned the money down Many more have been offered money mdash where is this coming fromrdquo he questioned ldquoI have never seen an election like this where money is being distributed so openly without any action Therersquos no use going to court or policerdquoThackeray also took aim at BJP leader K Annamalai over his remark that ldquoBombay is not a Maharashtra cityrdquo questioning Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for trying to clarify the commentFurther he raised questions on industrialist Gautam Adanis growing influence and said ldquoShould I not say anything against Adani because he visited my home once He came twondashthree years ago When Mumbai is in danger I will not see friendship And I am not interested in being friends with AdanirdquoWarning about Adanirsquos alleged growing influence over infrastructure Thackeray said ldquoWe donrsquot have a fight against Gujaratis We are saying donrsquot get into our fight If we leave Navi Mumbai Airport all other airports were taken over by Adani on gunpoint Same with the ports mdash he only created the Mundra Port in Gujarat With Prime Minister Narendra Modirsquos name and the Centrersquos support he kept expanding across the country If the port closes your business shuts down If he suspends power supply you will be in darkness Your future will be decided by one man How did one man rise in 11 years when Tata Birla took five decadesrdquoSanjay Raut says ruling alliance rattled by Thackeray cousinsrsquo show of strengthSanjay Raut Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament MP also addressed the rally stating that the ruling alliance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had not recovered from the impact of Sundays joint rally by the Thackeray cousins in Shivaji ParkHe also questioned Fadnavisrsquos choice to address voters in Hindi in VasaiVirar asserting that the fight was for Maharashtrarsquos identity and the Marathi languageThackeray and Raut jointly appealed to local leaders to focus on tackling corruption with the Rajya Sabha MP stating ldquoMaharashtra Minister Ganesh Naik has launched a fight against Eknath Shinde We appeal to him to fight against corruption in Navi Mumbai while Raj and Uddhav Thackeray will tackle the corrupt front in Mumbai and ThanerdquoldquoThis is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajrsquos land there is no place for traitors here How long will Raj and Uddhav Thackeray be together they ask Till we bury your politics to the ground we will be together till the endrdquo stated RautThe rally drew a massive crowd in Thane which will vote for the civic body on Thursday January 15 along with 28 other municipal corporations in Maharashtra