Thane Keeps Eknath Shinde Afloat, But Only Locally
Naresh Mhaske’s Thane win preserves Eknath Shinde’s home base, but Maharashtra’s wider verdict still tilted toward Uddhav Thackeray.
Naresh Ganpat Mhaske of Shiv Sena won Thane in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, taking 734,231 votes and 56.09% against Shiv Sena (UBT) incumbent Rajan Baburao Vichare’s 517,220 votes and 39.51%, according to 
Hindustan Times and 
The Hindu. The constituency recorded 56.87% turnout, up from 49.39% in 2019, in a seat that covers six assembly segments in Thane district and has long been a Shiv Sena stronghold (The Hindu).
Why Thane matters
This is a family-seat test for Eknath Shinde, not just another Maharashtra win. The Hindu notes that Shinde hails from Thane and that the constituency was held by the undivided Shiv Sena for years, lost briefly to the NCP in 2009, then reclaimed by the Sena in 2014 and 2019 (The Hindu). By installing his aide Mhaske over a sitting Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, Shinde used Thane to prove that his faction can still command the local organization and the urban Marathi vote that once underpinned the party’s identity (The Hindu).
That matters because Shinde’s political claim is not just that he broke away from Uddhav Thackeray, but that he inherited the Shiv Sena’s working machinery. Thane is the clearest evidence in his favor. The win gives him a hard number to point to in alliance bargaining inside the NDA and a defense against the argument that his faction survives only on the party symbol.
The larger signal from Maharashtra
The problem for Shinde is that Thane did not deliver a statewide rescue. The Hindu reported that the Maha Vikas Aghadi led on 29 of Maharashtra’s 48 seats, while the Mahayuti led on 17. It also said Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) outperformed the Shinde-led Sena in the overall direct showdown, even as Shinde retained Thane as a consolation prize. In other words, the home turf held, but the broader electorate did not validate the split the way Shinde needed.
That is the key power dynamic: Shinde can still win in pockets where his network is deepest, but he has not turned those pockets into a statewide mandate. Uddhav Thackeray, not Shinde, emerged with the stronger claim that the Shiv Sena brand still travels beyond its original bastions. For readers tracking 
India and wider coalition politics through Global Politics, the lesson is that party splits in Maharashtra are now decided seat by seat, not by inherited symbolism.
What to watch next
The next test is whether Shinde can convert Thane into organizational leverage for the next Maharashtra election cycle, especially in the Mumbai-Thane belt. If he cannot expand beyond this bastion, Thane will read as a local hold, not a political rebound. The next move is whether he uses the win to tighten candidate selection and patronage in Thane district — or whether Uddhav Thackeray’s broader 2024 showing sets the tone for the next round.
