In the first of his statewide rallies, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Sunday made a veiled attack on the BJP by claiming that the ruling dispensation at the Centre "did not need political alliances". Thackeray Sunday addressed public meetings at Shirdi and Ahmednagar. 

"When Atal ji's (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) government was there (at the Centre), it had the support of many political friends. (However), the current government does not need any political alliances," he said. In another swipe at the Union government, of which his party is a constituent, Thackeray asked people to find out the veracity of claims made in the speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I am asking party workers to find out how many people really benefited from the schemes of the BJP-led Central government. You should put up a poster of your findings next to that of PM Modi and let people decide," Thackeray told the gathering.