In an editorial in its newspaper ‘Saamna’, Shiv Sena, in an apparent barb at Modi, said, "Special efforts are being made to bring in burqa-clad women faces to (Modi's) public rallies. Everyone is in a hurry to appease minorities. Rather than opposing the Congress, all are getting in the race of appeasing minorities," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece."

Targeting BJP's politics, the newspaper said, "people forgot the Ram temple issue in a bid to seek power."