'Try winning election without my original symbol': Uddhav Thackeray says it's him vs Modi in Maharashtra

The battle between the two Shiv Sena factions intensified on the party's foundation day as Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde held separate events in Mumbai. Uddhav Thackeray, buoyed by public support, issued a direct challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Sion's Shanmukhanand Hall.

"Modi-ji, start your campaign for the Maharashtra assembly elections. It will be you versus me," he declared, referring to the upcoming elections.

To the BJP, Thackeray said, "Try winning an election without my original symbol. We didn't use anyone else's picture and never will, especially not PM Modi's. I challenge PM Modi to start preparations now, without this fake Shiv Sena."

Thackeray dismissed any notion of the two Sena factions reuniting. "I will never join those who tried to destroy my party," he said.

Despite the Election Commission awarding the name and symbol of the undivided Shiv Sena to the Shinde faction, voters clearly sided with Thackeray. His faction won nine seats, while Shinde's won seven.

The Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP secured eight seats, while Ajit Pawar's faction, which also got the name and symbol from the Election Commission, won just one. Congress, their ally, won 13 seats.

The political turmoil also impacted the BJP, which saw its tally drop to nine seats from 23 in 2019.  Shinde, however, remained resolute in his stance against Thackeray, accusing him of betraying the Hindutva ideology of Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

"Where is your Hindutva? You have no right to seek votes in Balasaheb Thackeray's name," Shinde said at a rally in Worli's NSCI dome. "Even a child knows the Shiv Sena UBT won because of Congress' vote bank. Those who abandoned Bal Thackeray's principles for power lost the election."

But Thackeray countered this, saying, "We got votes from patriots of all religions. They accuse us of leaving Hindutva because we allied with Congress. I did not leave Hindutva. If people voted for us to save the country and the constitution, then they are with us. It shows the BJP is the one that abandoned Hindutva."