Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said his outfit was not a "small party", and hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis over their reactions to NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar's 'merger' remark, reported news agency PTI.

Earlier, in an interview to a leading daily, Sharad Pawar predicted that in the next couple of years, several regional parties will associate more closely with the Congress, or even merge with it, reported PTI.