‘Are We Truly Together?’ Uddhav Thackeray’s Emotional Question After 23 MVA MLAs Skip Key Meet Is the Alliance Cracking?

Fresh cracks appear to be widening inside Maharashtra’s opposition alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), after a crucial strategy meeting on Wednesday saw a startling absence of 23 out of 60 MLAs.

The political tremor has come at a sensitive time — just days after six MPs from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction defected to the rival Sena camp led by Eknath Shinde, intensifying speculation over the alliance’s future.

The absence of several senior faces only added fuel to the fire.

Among those missing were Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and senior leader Jayant Patil, both reportedly unavailable due to personal reasons. Congress heavyweights Nana Patole and Vijay Wadettiwar were also absent, with Wadettiwar’s office citing health concerns.

Present at the meeting, however, were key figures like Harshwardhan Sapkal and Sanjay Raut, as discussions focused on preparing for the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly.

But it was Uddhav Thackeray’s emotional remarks that stole the spotlight.

“We say we are together… but are we truly together?” Thackeray asked, openly questioning the unity within the alliance.

His statement reflected not just frustration but growing concern over the stability of the MVA, especially after facing back-to-back political setbacks.

Addressing the recent rebellion within his own party, Thackeray tried to strike a defiant tone.

“Focus on those who are with us. Those who have left… let them go,” he told party members, signaling an attempt to steady the shaken ranks.

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This marks the second major split in Thackeray’s camp in just four years. The first came in June 2022, when Eknath Shinde led a dramatic revolt that split the undivided Shiv Sena and toppled the MVA government. A year later, a similar rebellion in the NCP under Ajit Pawar further weakened the alliance.

Formed in November 2019, the MVA was seen as an unusual coalition bringing together ideologically different forces — Thackeray’s Sena, the Congress, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP.

At the time, the alliance was widely criticized as a politically convenient arrangement, born after the Shiv Sena walked away from its long-time partner BJP over a bitter power-sharing dispute.

Despite surviving multiple elections and internal revolts, doubts over the alliance’s long-term stability have never fully disappeared.

Now, with fresh defections and visible absences at key meetings, those old questions are once again front and centre.

Political observers believe this latest episode could be more than just a temporary setback. For many, it may be the clearest sign yet that the MVA’s foundations are under serious pressure.

As Maharashtra’s political battle intensifies, all eyes will now be on whether Uddhav Thackeray can hold the alliance together — or whether this could be the beginning of the end.