Mumbai, April 26 -- Ae, laav re to video (Hey, just play that video)," declares Raj Thackeray, 51, to one of his many assistants on the dais. On a large screen behind him, a video starts playing a chosen clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi making promises or announcing a scheme. Thackeray exhorts his audience, packed to the gills in public maidans in towns and cities across Maharashtra, to listen with care. Then, as the video fades out, Thackeray demolishes Modi's statements with the precision of a statistician, investigative zeal of a journalist, and passion of a politician. By the end of his 40-45 minutes speech peppered with video evidence, data, and clever use of Marathi idioms, Thackeray has left the people with enough information and...