Mumbai Civic Battle: Sanjay Jha and Jayant Mainkar on Thackeray Unity and Congress-VBA Alliance

In this Special Report, India Today’s Maria Shakil discusses the shifting political landscape ahead of the BMC elections with senior journalist Jayant Mainkar and political analyst Sanjay Jha. The conversation highlights the significant development of Congress joining hands with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) after deciding to go alone. Mainkar notes that the ‘Thackerays have come together’ to consolidate the Marathi vote, a move he attributes partly to the backlash against the alleged imposition of Hindi on Maharashtra. Sanjay Jha describes the Thackeray reunion as a ‘definite X factor’ but warns that the ‘subterranean is extremely turbulent’ despite surface-level alliances. The panel also debates the impact of the 35-36% Marathi-speaking demographic versus the immigrant vote bank in Mumbai.