The BJP on Tuesday called Uddhav Thackeray a part-time chief minister of Maharashtra and said the state needs a full-time CM like Devendra Fadnavis.

Addressing the BJP state executive meeting, Maharashtra BJP in-charge CT Ravi dared the three party-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to hold fresh polls after dissolving the Legislative Assembly.

He also accused the Shiv Sena of betraying the BJP and the people of Maharashtra for severing ties with the BJP and joining hands with NCP and Congress to come to power.

“Uddhav Thackeray is a part-time chief minister of Maharashtra. The state needs a full-time CM like Devendra Fadnavis. By joining hands with the NCP and Congress, the Shiv Sena has not only betrayed the BJP but also the people of this state,” Ravi said.

“I dare the state government to dissolve the Legislative Assembly and hold fresh elections. They will then come to know which party gets the majority,” he added.

The Shiv Sena had contested the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections with the BJP but snapped its ties with the saffron party after the announcement of the poll results, over the post of the chief minister. The party later joined hands with the NCP and Congress and formed a government in the state in November 2019.

The BJP state executive meeting was held in the run-up to next year’s elections to the Mumbai civic body and other municipal corporations.

Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and other office-bearers were present at the meeting, PTI reported.