Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray urged his party cadre to unite with Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) for the upcoming January 15 Mumbai civic polls. Thackeray emphasized the need to 'save Mumbai' from those aiming to separate it from Maharashtra and protect the interests of the 'Marathi manoos'. He called for setting aside internal differences to campaign for alliance candidates, a sentiment echoed by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, who accused central and state powers of attempting to control Mumbai for corporate interests.