Weeks before the state votes for a new assembly, a provocative two-minute audio clip which has inflammatory remarks by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray interspersed with music is circulating on mobile phones in the city, raising the hackles of rivals who are considering complaining to authorities.

The track, whose music resembles a rap song, is a compilation of lines spoken by Thackeray at the peak of his anti-migrant campaign last year which saw him being arrested and released on bail. Among the people targeted in the clip are Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan, SP Mumbai leader Abu Azmi and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, all of whom had drawn the ire of Thackeray last year.

MNS spokesman Nitin Sardesai said the party had nothing to do with the audio clip and was not even aware of its existence. However, some junior party activists, who did not want to be named, said that the clip had been downloaded from a pro-MNS online group.

State chief electoral officer Debasish Chakraborty said the clip was yet to be brought to the notice of his office. “The police have been instructed to take complaints in case such MMSes and SMSes are circulating. Any individual with such a grievance can approach them. In such cases, the person with a grievance can also approach the district collector,” he said.

Azmi, who has been locked in rivalry with Thackeray, said that he would consult his legal team before considering approaching election authorities. “Raj Thackeray has been using his oratory to provoke hate between Maharashtrians and north Indians and this was evident during the Lok Sabha elections. He probably wants us to react with such tactics,” he said.