Raj Thackeray kickstarts MNS campaign, announces first candidate from Dadar

With just a few days to go for BMC Election 2026 Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS President Raj Thackeray on Monday formally kickstarted the partys campaign and announced its first candidate for the civic polls to be held on January 15 2026Senior MNS leader and party spokesperson Yashwant Killedar has been handed the lsquoAB formrsquo to contest from the Dadar Shivaji Park area news agency IANS reported Killedar is considered to be one of the partyrsquos key leadersThe announcement from MNS comes amid heightened political activity in Mumbai with major parties in the process of finalising seatsharing arrangements for the civic pollsBy issuing the AB form from Dadar the MNS leadership has indicated that the party is preparing to intensify its groundlevel mobilisation in traditional Marathidominated pockets of the cityThackerayrsquos decision follows the recent announcement of an alliance between the MNS and Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray headed by his cousin Uddhav for BMC Election 2026 The alliance is aimed at consolidating Marathi votes in MumbaiYashwant Killedar has stronghold in DadarMahim beltMNS candidate Yashwant Killedar who is a longtime MNS functionary has been active in the DadarMahim belt for several years and is considered a familiar face among local party workers His candidature for BMC Election 2026 might help MNS win the seatParty sources while briefing about election preparedness said that the early declaration of a candidate is intended to provide organisational clarity and allow workers to begin campaign activities well in advanceFurthermore the Shivaji ParkndashDadar region is regarded as the ideological cradle of both the undivided Shiv Sena and the MNS and the contest in the area is expected to be keenly foughtThe seat is likely to witness a multicornered contest involving the MNS Shiv Sena UBT and candidates backed by the Mahayuti alliance reported IANSReacting to his nomination Killedar expressed confidence and said ldquoThe local electorate had consistently supported Raj Thackerayrsquos vision He also stated that the focus would be on addressing civic infrastructure issues while safeguarding the cultural identity of the areaWith its first candidate announced the Raj Thackerayled MNS is expected to unveil its full list for the 227member civic body in phases over the coming days Political experts further believe the party could play a decisive role in several wards by influencing vote shares particularly in Marathispeaking localitiesldquoThe upcoming BMC elections were a battle for the ldquoexistencerdquo of the Marathi community and alleged attempts to weaken Maharashtrarsquos hold over Mumbairdquo said senior MNS leader Bala NandgaonkarWith inputs from IANS