Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would have "died of malnutrition" if his late father, Sena founder Bal Thackeray, had not come to its rescue, news agency PTI reported.

Speaking at a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar ahead of the January 15 civic elections in the city and across the state, the former Maharashtra Chief Minister took aim at the BJP following a remark by its leader Raosaheb Danve, who had said that "every political party has eaten out of our plate", implying that all parties had received help from the BJP at some point.