On the day of polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party came down heavily on Shiv Sena for its remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"If a tea-seller can become the Prime Minister, then why can't a Thackeray become the Chief Minister if the people of the State decide?" Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray asked in Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamna'.
The BJP objected to the language used by the Sena.
"The language used by Sena is unfortunate. This is not Maharashtra's culture. Maharashtra has some political culture, and it is not that low," Devendra Fadnavis, President of Maharashtra State unit of BJP told reporters from Nagpur.
The Sena's mouthpiece in Hindi, carried a two-page interview of Uddhav Thackeray, where Mr. Thackeray raised a vitriolic rhetoric against the BJP.
"I cannot tolerate the insult to Maharashtra. Historically, all those who have hurt Maharashtra's pride by calling its people 'mice', have been taught a lesson by the State. The time has come again to show these people their place," Mr. Thackeray said.
He also alleged that Mr. Modi's attempt was to bring in a proxy government at the State level, which will dance to the tunes of New Delhi. "They are moving towards destroying Marathi asmita (pride)," he said.
