Santosh Dhuri Slams Raj Thackeray After Joining BJP, Alleges MNS 'Surrendered' To Uddhav Sena

Raj Thackeray has formed an alliance with people with “green blood”. These people have completely taken control of the MNS. Raj Thackeray has surrendered our party to them, alleged former MNS corporator Santosh Dhuri, who joined BJP in Mumbai in presence of BJP leader Ameet Satam on Tuesday, January 6.

Addressing his first press conference after joining the BJP and wearing the party’s gamcha, Dhuri launched a sharp attack on both Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray ahead of the BMC Election 2026.

Also Read | Big Jolt To MNS In Mumbai Ahead Of BMC Polls As MNS Leader Santosh Dhuri Set To Join BJP.

Dhuri said it appears that only 52 seats have been allotted to the MNS in Mumbai, but even among these, there is no guarantee that seven or eight candidates will get elected. He alleged that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena did not give MNS the seats it wanted. Instead, MNS was offered seats where the Sena UBT had no candidates or where the image of sitting corporators was already tarnished.

“In areas with a high Maratha population such as Mahim, Dadar, Worli, Sewri and Bhandup, the MNS was given only one seat. The UBT group handed over to us only those seats they wanted to give up,” Dhuri said.

He further claimed that during seat-sharing talks between the Shiv Sena UBT and the MNS in Mumbai, it was decided that the MNS would vacate two seats in each Assembly constituency. However, he was informed by Nitin Sardesai that MNS would not get Ward No. 190 and Ward No. 192 in Dadar.

“I told Nitin Sardesai to do whatever he wanted but to release me. Eventually, Ward No. 192 also went to the Sena UBT and was taken away from Prakash Patankar,” Dhuri said.

Clarifying his stand, Dhuri said he was not upset about not being included in the seat-sharing discussions or not being given a candidature. “Raj Saheb has already given us a lot,” he said. However, he expressed strong displeasure that senior MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande was completely sidelined during the talks.

“When we questioned this, we were told that a decision had come from above that Raj Saheb had surrendered two forts — Santosh Dhuri and Sandeep Deshpande. The order from the Bandra bungalow was that neither of us should appear as candidates or be involved in seat allocation,” Dhuri alleged.