The rivalry between the Thackeray cousins has taken off to a flying start in the run-up to the October 13 Assembly elections in Maharashtra. While Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray termed the Shiv Sena's new-found love for 'the sons of the soil' as vote bank politics, Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray retorted by dubbing Raj as a Congress-NCP pawn trying to divide Marathi votes. He said the MNS is working to divide the Marathi votes, which would benefit the Congress-NCP combine. REUTERS
