Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday described late BJP stalwart and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the "second Nehru" of Indian politics.

Talking to reporters here, Raut also said whenever "raj dharma" is under threat, the country will remember Vajpayee, whose birth centenary is being observed on Wednesday.

The Sena (UBT) leader said even though his party was not with the BJP, Vajpayee will always be remembered.

"The present-day BJP may be maligning the legacy of (India's first prime minister) Pandit (Jawaharlal) Nehru, but Vajpayee was the second Nehru. He was the Nehru of non-Congress parties," the Rajya Sabha member claimed.

"Despite being a staunch Hindutvawadi, Vajpayee believed the country belongs to all. The BJP under Vajpayee was all inclusive and people believed the party wanted to keep India united and strong," he said.

Raut said even Pandit Nehru appreciated and blessed Vajpayee.

"(Shiv Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray had tremendous respect for Vajpayee and valued his word," he said.

"Whenever 'raj dharma' is under threat, the country will remember Vajpayee," Raut said.

Asked whether the Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest the local body elections independently, Raut said, "Let the poll schedule be announced, you will know...but we have begun the preparations." The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP).

Thackeray snapped ties with long-term ally BJP after the 2019 Maharashtra assembly polls over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post.

In the last month's state polls, the ruling Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, won 230 of the 288 assembly seats, while the MVA managed to secure only 46 seats.

Elections to various civic bodies in the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are overdue.

The undivided Shiv Sena controlled the cash-rich BMC for 25 consecutive years - from 1997 to 2022.

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