Summary:
Mumbai, Jan 23 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said he has accepted the challenge thrown by Union home minister Amit Shah that Sena should contest elections on its own and targetted BJP over its "politically-convenient" Hindutva.
Addressing Shiv Sainiks virtually on the 96th birth anniversary of the party founder and his father Bal Thackeray, Uddhav said that he still believes that 25 years the Sena had spent with BJP as an ally were "rotted".
The Sena will try to expand its footprint outside Maharashtra and aim for a national role, he added.
He said the Sena had aligned with BJP for taking forward the agenda of Hindutva through power.
"I have accepted the challenge given by Union home minister Amit Shah that Shiv Sena should contest elections on its own," Thackeray said.
He said when BJP was growing politically, it aligned with several regional parties including Sena.