India, Jan. 10 -- In their first joint rally in Nashik, after they joined hands for the civic body elections, the Thackeray cousins - Uddhav and Raj -- slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for "propagating political Hindutva", poaching candidates from Opposition parties, and misleading people in the name of religion and doles.

Speaking first, Raj Thackeray, chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), said, "The party that was formed in 1952 as Bharatiya Jan Sangh still needs to hire people from other parties. It is equally an insult to those who have been working in the party for decades."

He also alleged that the ruling parties had offered Rs.15 crore to three candidates from a family in Kalyan to withdraw from the fray. "Where is t...