Shiv Sena was established on June 19, 1966, by Bal Thackeray in Mumbai (then Bombay). Initially, the party championed the rights of the Marathi-speaking populace, advocating for their prominence in Maharashtra's socio-political sphere. Over time, Shiv Sena embraced Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) as a core ideology, aligning itself with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and participating in various coalition governments both at the state and national levels. The party was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray as its leader.
Electoral Performance Before Split
1995 Maharashtra Assembly Election: The Shiv Sena - BJP alliance, achieved a historic victory by securing a majority and forming the first non-Congress government in the state. Shiv Sena emerged as the larger partner in the coalition, where it won 73 seats and 16.39% vote share.
1999–2014: Between 1999 and 2014, Shiv Sena remained in opposition as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Indian National Congress (INC) coalition governed Maharashtra. Despite this, Shiv Sena maintained a notable presence in the assembly. In 1999, the party won 69 seats with a 17.33% vote share. In 2004, it secured 62 seats with 19.97% of the votes. However, by 2009, its seat count dropped to 44, with a 16.26% vote share.
**2014 Assembly Election: **The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance experienced a temporary split over seat-sharing disagreements, leading both parties to contest the elections independently. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 122 seats, while Shiv Sena secured 63 seats. Subsequently, the two parties reconciled, and Shiv Sena joined the BJP-led government, with Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister.
2019 Maharashtra Assembly Election: Shiv Sena and BJP contested the elections as allies, with the BJP winning 105 seats and Shiv Sena securing 56 seats. However, post-election disagreements over power-sharing led to Shiv Sena breaking away from the alliance. Shiv Sena then formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition with the NCP and INC, leading to Uddhav Thackeray's appointment as Chief Minister. In June 2022, internal disagreements emerged within Shiv Sena regarding its alliance with the MVA coalition, which included the NCP and the INC. Eknath Shinde, a senior leader, led a faction of Shiv Sena Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to ally with the BJP, expressing dissatisfaction with the existing coalition. This defection led to the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister on June 29, 2022. Subsequently, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as Chief Minister on June 30, 2022, with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as Deputy Chief Minister. The split resulted in two factions: the Shinde-led group, recognized by the Election Commission of India as the official Shiv Sena, retaining the original party name and the "bow and arrow" symbol; and the faction led by Uddhav Thackeray, which adopted the name Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) [SS(UBT)] with a 'flaming torch - Mashal” symbol. This division significantly influenced Maharashtra's political landscape, leading to realignments and impacting governance and electoral strategies within the state.
Electoral Performance Post-Split:
● **2022 Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Polls: **The initial electoral contest between the two factions occurred during these local elections. The MVA alliance, which included SS(UBT) , secured 114 seats. While the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena obtained 262 seats as the part of Mahayuti alliance.
● 2024 Indian General Elections in Maharashtra: The Lok Sabha elections marked a significant contest between the factions. The MVA alliance, including SS(UBT), won 30 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra. Specifically, SS(UBT) secured 9 seats. The NDA alliance, including the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, won 17 seats in total, with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena securing 7 seats.
● 2024 Assembly Elections: In the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Mahayuti coalition won 235 out of 288 seats . Shinde’s Shiv Sena secured 57 seats, while Uddhav’s faction won just 20. Devendra Fadnavis became CM, with Shinde and Pawar as Deputy CMs