If the Thackeray cousins come together, even in a ‘show’ of unity over the state’s linguistic identity, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena stands to lose its hard-core Marathi voter base, which won’t hesitate to switch

(From left) Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will hold a joint protest on July 5 against the state government’s imposition of Hindi in schools; (extreme right) Eknath Shinde said on Friday that the language decision won’t be forced on anyone. Pics/Ashish Raje

The reunion of the estranged Thackeray cousins, even for a day — if not for the civic polls or a long-term alliance — is certainly a threat to the ruling regime. But, it is not the BJP that needs to be worried about the symbolic reunion. The real political threat looms over its alliance partner, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which on several occasions in public meetings has claimed to be the true inheritor of the late Bal Thackeray’s legacy of both Hindutva and Marathi.

Raj Thackeray, head of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray have decided to share a platform over the state’s linguistic identity. In fact, the cousins have decided to match footsteps in the unity march scheduled for July 5, from Girgaon sea face to Azad Maidan to protest against the state government’s imposition of Hindi in schools across the state. 

Both Raj and Uddhav have projected themselves as the champions of Marathi. Since 2022 (when the

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