NEW DELHI, JANUARY 7: Having graduated from a fringe-player to a key contender for power in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena is not ruffled by Raj Thackeray's attempt to steal its Marathi Manoos plank. The Sena is sitting pretty, convinced that Raj would not be able to make any dent in its following.

“Raj is making desperate efforts to get attention after having failed to register any noteworthy presence in civic polls in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik or elsewhere. His party has not taken off at all,” Sena Rajya Sabha member and executive editor of party mouthpiece Saamna Sanjay Raut told The Indian Express here on Thursday.

The Sena leader said the party, under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, had proved its strength in every election and byelection. The rank and file has shown its complete loyalty to his leadership. He ruled out any move by the Sena to counter Raj. The talk of the sons-of-soil by Raj, according to him, is an afterthought after experimenting with a multi-colour flag instead of saffron to send a signal to all communities. The violent incidents, he maintained, were confined to the street where Raj lives and said the media had blown them out of proportion.

When pointed out that even the Sena had espoused the cause of Marathi Manoos, Raut said, “We do not support any demand for pushing out non-Marathis from Mumbai or the Hindi-speaking people being beaten up.”

On being reminded that the Sena too had practised strong-arm tactics once upon a time, Raut said, “We have evolved over decades and one must understand that everything cannot be re-played.” However, the Saamna editor advised RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav to lay off. “These Lalus and Mulayams should leave Maharashtra to us. They need not speak about Hindi-speaking people of Mumbai—we would take care of them.”