Adani, Airports and Power: Raj Thackeray Drops a Political Bombshell at Shivaji Park

At the first joint rally of the Thackeray brothers at Shivaji Park on Sunday, just three days before the BMC elections, MNS chief Raj Thackeray delivered one of his most explosive political speeches yet.

Using large LED screens in his trademark “laav re toh video” style, Raj presented a series of maps and data sets tracing the rapid rise of industrialist Gautam Adani from 2014 to 2025. He alleged that the Modi government had systematically channelled major infrastructure and business projects to Adani, turning India into what he called “India Adani.”

Raj compared Adani’s footprint before and after 2014, claiming the scale of growth was unprecedented and closely tied to political patronage. Displaying maps of India, Maharashtra and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), he alleged there was a deliberate plan to funnel major projects to one corporate group, making Adani one of the richest men in the world in just a decade.

Raj further accused the Centre of executing a long-term strategy to divert Mumbai’s economic strength towards Gujarat. He claimed projects such as the Vadhavan port and a proposed airport were designed to pull cargo and logistics away from Mumbai.

“They want the land of Mumbai airport. This is not a coincidence, it is a plan,” he said, alleging that Palghar, Thane and Mumbai were being gradually aligned into a Gujarat-centric economic corridor.

“If this does not shock you, then we deserve what is coming,” he added.

Launching a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, Raj accused it of moral collapse and political opportunism. He alleged that money power was being used to manipulate elections, pressure officials to engineer unopposed victories, and field candidates facing serious criminal allegations.
Raj also targeted the BJP over candidate selection, saying, “A drug peddler is being given a mayoral ticket and an accused in a sexual assault case is made a councillor. How do you even have the courage to do this?”, drawing loud applause.

Highlighting what he called the BJP’s political hypocrisy, Raj pointed out that the party had allied with AIMIM in Akot and with the Congress in Ambernath, despite publicly attacking both. He accused the BJP of abandoning all principles for electoral convenience.

Raising concerns about the voting process, Raj alleged the presence of bogus voters and manipulation of EVMs. He said both he and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had opposed the imposition of Hindi, calling it a political attempt to dilute Marathi identity.

Mocking the BJP’s shifting loyalties, Raj said leaders once branded as corrupt were now being welcomed as allies. He also criticised remarks suggesting Mumbai should have a North Indian mayor, calling them an insult to Maharashtra.

“Land and language are everything. Lose them, and you lose your existence,” Raj said, attacking projects like the bullet train, which he claimed ignored the interests of Konkan and local communities.

Calling the BMC election a final stand for Marathi pride, he urged unity. “Mumbai was built by the sacrifice of countless people. If we lose it through carelessness, history will never forgive us,” he said.

Calling the BMC election a “last battle to save Mumbai,” Raj warned that defeat would have irreversible consequences.
“If you lose today, you will be wiped out,” he told the crowd, describing what he called a systematic attempt to weaken Mumbai and its Marathi identity.
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