Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has once again put the ruling Mahayuti alliance on the defensive, this time by throwing his weight behind the demands of Mumbai’s mill workers. Thackeray participated in a major rally organized at Azad Maidan on Wednesday, where 14 mill workers' unions gathered to protest the state government’s housing policies for workers.
Addressing the rally, Thackeray demanded that mill workers be provided homes in Mumbai under the Dharavi redevelopment scheme, instead of being relocated to remote suburbs like Vangani and Shelu. “Skyscrapers and malls have been built on mill lands, but the original mill workers have been left homeless,” he said.
Mill workers, predominantly Marathi-speaking and from areas such as Lalbaug, Parel, Dadar, Worli, and Sewri, have long demanded housing in the city. Thackeray’s support for their cause is seen as a strategic move to consolidate the Marathi vote bank in Mumbai ahead of upcoming elections.
Currently, the Maharashtra government has initiated a project to build 81,000 homes in Vangani and Shelu for mill workers, of which only 25,000 workers are expected to get homes in Mumbai. These houses are being developed by private builders, and workers have raised objections to both the location and the developers involved. The unions have demanded the cancellation of these remote housing plans, but the government is pressing ahead, leading to growing anger among workers and their families.
Alongside Uddhav Thackeray, leaders from the NCP (SP), MNS, and other opposition parties—including Jayant Patil and Aaditya Thackeray—also attended the rally.
Thackeray criticized the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti for failing to support mill workers and accused it of favoring big corporations. “If the MVA government had not been toppled, we would have given homes to the mill workers already,” he claimed. He also pointed out the government’s willingness to accommodate industrialist Adani’s projects while neglecting the needs of the city’s original residents.
“Let Adani build on the Deonar dumping ground, but give the mill workers their rightful homes in Mumbai,” he said.
Speaking on broader issues, Thackeray also expressed solidarity with unaided teachers and ongoing workers’ strikes, calling their struggles justified. “Shiv Sena (UBT) will stand shoulder to shoulder with teachers and workers until victory is achieved,” he said. He criticized the central government for suppressing Marathi identity and accused Delhi’s loyalists of attempting to crush the sons of the soil in Maharashtra.
Commenting on the recent imposition of Hindi in Mira-Bhayandar, Thackeray said, “Such forceful imposition is unacceptable. Even during my train ride this morning, I witnessed bullying. What will happen if this public anger explodes?”
