Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | The Shiv Sena did not lose its identity even after an alliance of three decades with the BJP and there was no question of it turning into Congress now, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday.

The Sena (UBT) chief was speaking at a campaign rally at Hingoli for Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance candidates from Kalamnuri, Hingoli and Vasmat assembly segments ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra elections.

Replying to criticism by the BJP that the Sena led by him has become another version of the Congress, Thackeray said his party was a BJP ally for several years, but did not lose its identity.

"Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah come here and tell people that we (Shiv Sena-UBT) abandoned Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology. I did not leave the ideology, I left the BJP. The BJP is not Bal Thackeray's thoughts," he said.

"How can the Shiv Sena become Congress? Congress is with us. The Shiv Sena did not become BJP despite being with them for 25-30 years. How can it become Congress?" added Thackeray who severed the ties with the BJP in 2019 and joined hands with the Congress and (then undivided) NCP.

On the BJP's slogan `ek hai to safe hai', he said, "We are already united, we will wipe out the BJP by staying together."

Despite the elections in Maharashtra, the Tata Airbus project in Gujarat was inaugurated with fanfare, Thackeray said, referring to the Opposition's claim that big industrial projects meant for Maharashtra were being diverted to Gujarat.

Santosh Bangar, sitting MLA and candidate of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena from Kalamnuri, had called on him when he was chief minister and suffering from coronavirus infection, Thackeray said.

"He was crying, and the next day I saw that he went there (Shinde camp). I came to know about his sins later," the Sena (UBT) chief said, referring to the split in the party in June 2022.

His government took care of people during the coronavirus pandemic, Thackeray said.

"Maharashtra remained at the number one position in terms of taking care of its people (during the pandemic). Some people claim I was sitting at home. But I was taking care of people from there. These burglars betrayed us. If we had got a full term, no demand would have been left unmet. Every work would have been completed," said the former chief minister whose Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance government collapsed following Shinde's rebellion.

The price of soybean in the state has crashed from about Rs 10,000 per quintal during his tenure to Rs 3,500, prices of pulses too have gone down and cotton has not been procured yet, he said.

The BJP once promised to deposit Rs 15 lakh in every person's bank account but now the Mahayuti government is paying a mere Rs 1,500, he said, referring to the Shinde government's Ladki Bahin scheme for women.

"If they come to power again, it will come down to 15 paisa, because their promises have proved fake," Thackeray said.

If it formed the government, the Maha Vikas Aghadi will pass a resolution seeking to increase the cap on reservations and send it to the central government, he said, adding that "those who are sitting in Delhi can solve this issue".

Notably, some Maratha leaders have demanded that the 50 per cent limit be lifted so that their community can get reservation.