Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. File | Photo credit: PTI
Amid the tussle for the post of Mumbai mayor, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) claimed that the phones of newly elected BJP and Shiv Sena members who are “locked” in a luxury hotel are being tapped by the ruling party.
He said BJP corporators are being kept under the watch of party workers.
The BJP rejected Mr Raut’s allegations and stressed that the party does not indulge in such activities as it trusts its corporators.
Mr. Raut claimed that Mumbai’s mayor was being decided by Delhi, an insult to Maharashtra that hit out at the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
“BJP workers are monitoring (the movements of) every corporator of the party. The BJP is also tapping the phones of its own corporators,” a Shiv Sena (UBT) MP told reporters.
Even the phones of Shiv Sena corporators “locked” in a luxury hotel are tapped, he added.
As the Mumbai mayoral race heated up and tensions deepened over the ruling Shiv Sena’s stand, Raut met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Tuesday (January 20, 2026).
In the recent polls, the BJP-Sena alliance ended the almost three-decade monopoly of the Thackerays on the country’s richest civic body, which meant that Mumbai would not have a mayor handpicked by Uddhav Thackeray.
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won a clear majority in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, securing 89 and 29 seats respectively.
The Shiv Sena subsequently shifted all 29 newly elected members to a luxury hotel in Mumbai, allegedly for an orientation workshop on the functioning of the civic body.
Mr. Shinde insists that Mahayuti (BJP-Sena combine) will be the next mayor of Mumbai. But he also hinted at the Shiv Sena’s claim to the post, projecting it as a tribute to Bal Thackeray in his birth centenary year, citing Shivsainik emotions.
Maharashtra BJP media Navnath Ban trashed Mr. Raut’s allegations.
“We don’t need phone tapping but Raut should clarify who tapped the phones of Eknath Shinde and Uday Samant when Maha Vikas Aghadi (led by Uddhav Thackeray) was in power. We have strong support from corporators and we are not involved in such activities.”
Published – 20 Jan 2026 20:11 IST
