Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asserted that Hindutva was not the BJP’s exclusive preserve, making his party’s stand clear after the Shiv Sena boss had offered prayers at the makeshift Ram temple in Ayodhya.

“BJP hi akele Hindutva ke liye nahin hai…. Hamara unse alliance nahin hua, lekin hum Hindutva ki ladai ladte rahenge (The BJP is not the only party for Hindutva. The Shiv Sena has distanced itself from the BJP but that doesn’t mean it would stop pursuing its agenda of Hindutva),” Uddhav told reporters in Ayodhya.

Uddhav came to power in Maharashtra late last year after the Sena had snapped its decades-long ties with the BJP to ally with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.

The Sena chief, who offered prayers to Ram Lalla (infant Ram) at the makeshift temple to mark 100 days of his government, announced a donation of Rs 1 crore from Maharashtra for the shrine.

He said his father, Bal Thackeray, had played an important role in the temple movement. “My father was a champion of this cause and had sent stones from across Maharashtra for the temple in the past,” Uddhav added. He had earlier received a guard of honour from the state police.

Uddhav requested his Uttar Pradesh counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, to allot a land in Ayodhya for a Maharashtra Bhavan.

Earlier, some Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha members had gathered in front of a hotel where Uddhav and over 50 of his party’s MPs and MLAs were present.

“Uddhav Thackeray, go back,” they chanted in protest against the Sena’s alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra.

The authorities had on Friday evening put under house arrest three local religious leaders fearing protests against Uddhav’s visit. That didn’t deter other members from holding their protest against the Maharashtra leader. “We are angry with the Shiv Sena chief because he became the chief minister of Maharashtra with the support of the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, which were never in support of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Rahul Gandhi never supported a Ram temple in Ayodhya,” Ravindra Dwivedi, a leader of the Mahasabha in Ayodhya, said.

Asked about the protest, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said: “We don’t have anything to say to those who are protesting against our leader in Ayodhya. It is their right in a democratic country.”

“The sadhus are also getting aware of politics,” he added.

Asked about the comment that Congress leader Rahul had never supported a Ram temple, Raut said: “Rahul is a believer and we all know that.”