Mumbai: Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray had stopped the party's expansion outside Maharashtra on a request by Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- former Prime Minister and one of the BJP's tallest leaders -- Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut has told NDTV in an exclusive interview, recalling a phase of mutual respect between the party and erstwhile ally BJP. The Sena, at the time, was ready to become a national party and had taken steps to do so, but after a phone call, it was put it on hold, Mr Raut said.
"We had an alliance with the BJP. Especially after the Ayodhya movement, there was a wave for Balasaheb in Hindi-speaking states. We were also going to contest the elections in 1992. We were getting good support," he said.
"Balasaheb Thackeray was the leader of Hindus. He had become a superstar, but when he announced that he wished to contest elections, he got a call from Atal-ji. He was told that 'Balasaheb, if you contest the elections, our votes will get divided. Once again, we will suffer a loss'," Mr Raut recalled.
After this Balasaheb decided that the party would not contest elections in other states.
"Balasaheb told us that Atal-ji had called us, we should respect him, so we will not contest the elections. Had we had contested elections, 10-15 of our leaders would have got elected from outside Maharashtra," he added.
Even now, workers join the party in other states, but there is no leader, Mr Raut said. Uddhav Thackeray, he added, wants the party to expand.
Mr Raut's comments come ahead of the assembly elections in Maharashtra, when the Sena and the BJP, allies for decades, have split and the BJP is said to have engineered a split in the party and came to power alongside the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde.
Mr Shinde, currently the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has been fighting for the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray, portraying Sena UBT chief and Bal Thackeray's son Uddhav Thackeray as one who has turned his back on the Sena ideology to gain power.