Raj Thackeray cancels MNS Deepotsav at Shivaji Park this year, citing drought in Maharashtra

MNS chief Raj Thackeray has announced that the party's annual Deepotsav at Shivaji Park will not be held this year because of the drought in the state. He shared the decision in a video posted on X on November 4, 2026.

Diwali begins tomorrow and markets are decked up, with people out shopping. The state, meanwhile, is in the grip of a severe drought. Thackeray said it does not feel right to celebrate the Deepotsav while fellow Maharashtrians are suffering from the drought.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena holds the Deepotsav every year. Shivaji Park is full of festive cheer on the occasion, with lighting and fireworks, and people from across the state, including Mumbai and Thane, come to watch the fireworks. The event will not be held this year.

Thackeray said Maharashtra is going through a strange situation today. Water has become a pressing question in the villages and the drought is severe. He asked how the state's brothers and sisters and their children would feel if everyone celebrated Diwali with full gusto at such a time. He said people should think about this themselves.

Thackeray said the Chief Minister has said this year's drought will be worse than that of 1972. He said that even though the Chief Minister had warned of this in advance, people from the ruling party did not grasp it and kept playing garba. He said that was their own concern, but that holding a Deepotsav of this kind does not sit right with him, so there will be none this year. He said he hopes everything will be fine next year.

He said droves of people will leave the countryside and come to the cities, and the state of the city is already plain to see. Thackeray appealed to people, saying "we do not have to celebrate a black Diwali", but that enthusiasm must be kept in check. He asked people to show restraint while bursting firecrackers. He said: "We are citizens of Maharashtra, we love Maharashtra, and when our own people are scorched, celebrating like this does not feel right."

Thackeray also said people should put up lanterns (kandil) and distribute festive food, but hold back on decorative lighting and firecrackers. He said that next year the party will once again celebrate the Deepotsav with full vigour.