Raj Thackeray Accuses BJP Of 'Exploiting Chhath', Draws Shiv Sena Retort

Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray accused the ruling BJP of playing Bhojpuri songs at Mumbai railway stations to ignite "conflict" and exploiting Chhath Puja, a festival mainly celebrated by people from Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh. The politician, whose brand of politics revolves around "Marathi pride", attributed the ruling party's alleged attempts at "cultural invasion" to the assembly elections in UP and declared that the "divide and rule tactic" will no longer work. BJP ally Shiv Sena dismissed the allegations as "objectionable". But his statements resonated with opposition leaders, including his nephew and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray."The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the toxic social media ecosystem it nurtures are currently making desperate attempts to incite conflict in Mumbai, Maharashtra, by exploiting the issue of Chhath Puja. To this end, they are circulating reels on social media depicting the rituals and what they frame as a 'cultural invasion' stemming from them. As if that weren't enough, they even attempted to play Bhojpuri music at certain railway stations in Mumbai, which was promptly shut down by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) anyway," the MNS chief wrote in a long post on X, two days after a controversy erupted over playing Bhojpuri songs at some Mumbai railway stations ahead of the festival."Yet, the BJP remains frustrated because the conflict they so desire has failed to materialise. All this frantic manoeuvring is being orchestrated with an eye on the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh," he added.Thackeray alleged the BJP resorts to communal tensions to garner voters during Lok Sabha elections.He claimed that to win the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the BJP manufactured what he called a "Gujarati versus Marathi" conflict."I have often stated in my speeches that the BJP cannot win elections based on their actual performance; instead, they engineer conflicts between groups and secure victories on the back of the blood spilt in those clashes. Of course, this is largely a superficial spectacle, as the real work is done by the Election Commission. But it provides them with a convenient narrative to explain how they achieved their victory," he added.Jai Maharashtra, The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the toxic social media ecosystem it nurtures are currently making desperate attempts to incite conflict in Mumbai, Maharashtra, by exploiting the issue of 'Chhath Puja'. To this end, they are circulating reels on social media depicting the rituals and what they frame as a ‘cultural invasion' stemming from them. As if that weren't enough, they even attempted to play Bhojpuri music at certain railway stations in Mumbai, which was promptly shut down by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) anyway. Yet, the BJP remains frustrated because the conflict they so desire has failed to materialize. All this frantic maneuvering is being orchestrated with an eye on the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh. It appears that the BJP's ‘think tank' has suffered a decline in its intellectual capacity. The ‘divide and rule' tactic which they have relied upon for years to win elections is no longer effective. Whenever Lok Sabha elections approach, they stoke Hindu-Muslim tensions; they parade women wearing burqas through public grounds and parks, aiming to frighten the public by suggesting that 'the other' has now encroached upon their own spaces. The social media is rife with videos, often staged, featuring individuals, including men, dressed in burqas to manufacture fear. When state-level elections draw near, they sow the seeds of caste-based hatred. Last year, in a bid to win the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, they manufactured ‘Gujarati versus Marathi' conflict, centered around the issue of feeding pigeons (kabutarkhana). I have often stated in my speeches that the BJP cannot win elections based on their actual performance; instead, they engineer conflicts between groups and secure victories on the back of the blood spilled in those clashes. Of course, this is largely a superficial spectacle, as the real work is done by the Election Commission. But it provides them with a convenient narrative to explain how they achieved their 'victory'. Spurred by the 'Gen Z' movement, the journey toward the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) ouster from power, both at the Centre and in the states, has begun. It is bound to happen soon! This has left the BJP and its mentors completely rattled. They fear that once out of power, the ghosts of everything they have done over the last 12 to 14 years will come back to haunt them. Regardless, whatever is destined to happen to them, will happen! I urge the Marathi people: there is no need for us to fight on the battlefield of their choosing. That is not the ‘Maharashtra way.' They may have forgotten Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's guerrilla warfare tactics, but we must remember it. We shall decide how and when to respond using these tactics. We must not fall into the traps they have laid for their own selfish ends. The BJP has ruined the nation, destroying the social harmony and tolerance that once existed. The same is happening in Maharashtra. Acting on directives from the Centre, they are effectively selling off Maharashtra piece by piece, to a single industrialist and his cronies, stripping the state bare from every direction. They have even begun to hollow out the Sahyadri mountain range. The very land where our Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his loyal warriors once lived. Forests are being handed over, lands are being signed away; whatever that industrialist sets his eyes upon in Maharashtra is being gifted to him. Yet we remain seemingly indifferent. I have often said that I have never encountered a society as unvigilant as the Marathi community. A people who wake up to an incident, only to fall back into a slumber and forget everything within a day or two. The Marathi people must not forget what is unfolding all around them. We must express our anger at the right moment; only then do we earn the right to invoke the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj!— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) November 13, 2026Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam reacted to the row and questioned the coherence of Thackeray's post."I also tried to read and understand Raj Thackeray's lengthy X post. After reading it, the first question that came to my mind was: What exactly are you trying to say?" he said.He accused Thackeray of taking a "stand against Chhath Puja"."This entire event has nothing to do with the Uttar Pradesh elections. Elections will come and go, but Chhath Puja has been celebrated for thousands of years. The kind of stand he has taken against Chhath Puja is completely objectionable," he added.Aditya Thackeray, the son of Raj Thackeray's cousin Uddhav Thackeray, said the BJP has been promoting Chhath Puja only to bag migrant votes."Do not force other cultures on Marathi culture. BJP facilitates Chhath Puja only for migrant votes. We actually protected migrants during the Covid crisis," he said.Congress leader Husain Dalwai said Raj Thackeray is right in opposing the festival."Raj Thackeray has opposed it, and he is completely right to do so... Are they trying to turn our Mumbai into Bihar? What kind of thing is this? Mumbai belongs to the Marathi people and Mumbai will remain Mumbai; it will not become Bihar or Gujarat," he said."We simply will not allow this... Chhath Puja is not ours; it does not belong to the people of Maharashtra. Where did this Chhath Puja even come from? We have no idea," he added.With inputs from ANI