India, May 18 -- "We are not a sinking ship. It's the BJP's ship, which is overloaded, that will go under." It's all Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray could manage as a rallying cry ahead of local body elections in Maharashtra, including the all-important contest for Mumbai's civic body, the country's wealthiest municipal corporation.

At a meeting of party office-bearers, leaders, MPs and MLAs at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar on Saturday, the first of its kind ahead of the polls, Thackeray said he was determined to fight the BJP but did not comment on a possible alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Urging party leaders and office-bearers to gear up the party machinery for the elections, he asked them to focus on issues af...