India, Dec. 25 -- The coming together of Thackeray cousins Raj and Uddhav after years of estrangement will certainly help in arresting a split in Marathi voters, but the long-expected alliance will not guarantee them victory in the crucial Mumbai civic polls, said political analysts.
In a significant political development, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra NavnirmanSena (MNS) on Wednesday formally announced an alliance for the January 15 polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India's richest civic body that has 227 corporator seats.
Addressing a joint news conference, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS president Raj Thackeray said they have joined hands for the cause of "Marathi manoos" (Marathi speakers)...