Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today blamed Raj Thackeray-led MNS for his party candidate's defeat in Maharashtra council polls.
Alleging that MNS took money to vote for the ruling party backed fourth candidate, Thackeray termed the party as 'Dhanase' (a pun on its acronym Manase).
"All the 13 votes of 'Dhanase' were given to fourth candidate of Congress Vijay Sawant in lieu of money, creating problem to Sena which is fighting for the cause of Marathi people," he said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana today.
Rubbishing chief minister Ashok Chavan's remarks that Congress has nothing to do with Sawant, Thackeray said, "how come Congress-NCP's second preference votes and 13 MNS
votes were given to Sawant".
In fact, NCP leader and deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and rural development minister Jayant Patil confessed that their party candidates won with the help of MNS, he said.
The Sena chief also hit out at Congress for taking help from MNS in the polls. "On one hand Congress criticises parties like MNS terming them anti-Hindi and on the other, takes help from MNS and SP leader Abu Azmi during polls," he said.
