Sanjay Raut urges Congress to unite towards BJP in Mumbai civic polls

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday (October 23, 2025) appealed to opposition events to shut ranks forward of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Company (BMC) elections, underlining that the battle isn’t just electoral but additionally about safeguarding Mumbai and democratic values.

His feedback got here after Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap declared that the social gathering would contest the civic polls independently, ruling out any alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) or Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Raut stated if discussions on a pre-poll alliance have been obligatory, they’d be held with the nationwide Congress management and never with state leaders. “That is about defeating the BJP and saving Mumbai,” he instructed reporters, warning of an “imminent hazard” for the town.

Invoking the historic Samyukta Maharashtra motion, he reminded Congress leaders that the events have already come collectively to guard Mumbai’s identification. “The Congress is a key associate within the INDIA bloc and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). These alliances are collective efforts, not depending on one social gathering,” he stated.

The Rajya Sabha MP urged the Marathi Congress management to rethink its stand, including that Marathi voters would welcome a united opposition. “If some events select a special course for the BMC or native elections, that’s their prerogative. We is not going to make any assertion that might jeopardize our alliance. Raj Thackeray leads an unbiased social gathering and our mission is obvious: to defeat the BJP and stop Mumbai from falling into the clutches of the Adani group,” Raut stated.

He additionally attacked the Congress, alleging that the INDIA bloc was shaped to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister. “If we have to focus on alliances, we are going to converse to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala. To this point, there have been no talks with them on this problem,” he clarified.

He additionally referred to the continuing tussle over seat-sharing inside the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, the place the Congress and the RJD are competing towards one another in a number of constituencies. Taking a jab, Raut requested if there was a pacesetter like Raj or Uddhav Thackeray in that state to maintain the alliance collectively.

At present, the MVA in Maharashtra contains the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).