I'm a Shiv Sainik, not chowkidar: Uddhav

In a statement that is open to interpretation, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said that he was a Shiv Sainik and there was no need for him to be categorically labelled as a “chowkidar”.

"I am a Shiv Sainik. I don't need to be separately called a chowkidar. A soldier is a soldier who safeguards the common man and fights for their rights," Thackeray said in a video interview to Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, who is also the executive editor of Saamana, the party's mouthpiece.

On Modi, he said: “I don't work for Congress-mukt Bharat but (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi should be given another five years.”

Before the pre-poll alliance between Shiv Sena and BJP was finalised, Uddhav had even said “chowkidar chor hai”, a slogan that was started by Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Uddhav said that the Shiv Sena and BJP bond over their ideology, and after a meeting with BJP counterpart Amit Shah, their issues were resolved. “The BJP president came to meet me, we held a discussion and our issues were resolved… the common thread between us is Hindutva,” he said.

On the leadership of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Thackeray said he does not have personal enmity against anyone. "Since they are both younger to me, I look at them as kids. Both these kids are trying to find a stability in the present environment. We will know about their success and failure later,” he said.