Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the reputation of Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and his supporters as “traitors” would never be washed away.

Addressing a Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park ground in Mumbai, Uddhav lashed out at Shinde, whose rebellion in June brought down the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in the state.

“As time changes, Ravan’s face also changes. Today, it is the traitors (who are Ravan). When I was unwell and underwent a surgery, I had given the responsibility to him (Shinde). But he conspired against me thinking I would never stand up on my feet again,” the former chief minister said.

Shiv Sena supporters during their Dussehra rally at Dadar in Mumbai on Wednesday. PTI

The Shiv Sena does not belong to one person but to all loyal party workers, Uddhav said, adding: “If you feel I should not remain Sena president, I will quit.”

“There is a limit to lust for power.… After the act of treachery, he now wants the party, its symbol and also wants to be called the party president,” Uddhav said, targeting Shinde.

Uddhav said he had formed a post-poll alliance with traditional foes Congress and NCP to teach the BJP a lesson for breaking its promises. “I swear on my parents that it had been decided that the BJP and the Shiv Sena would share the chief minister’s post, each for two-and-a-half years,” he said.

The Sena leader said he did not need lessons on Hindutva from the BJP. “BJP leaders visited (then Pakistan Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif on his birthday without invitation and bowed before Jinnah’s grave,” Uddhav said.

He also accused the BJP of raising the Hindutva issue to divert attention from poverty, unemployment and inflation. “RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has shown the BJP the mirror,” he said, referring to Hosabale’s statement about the challenges of rising income inequality and unemployment.

Facing the grave challenge of retaining control over the party founded by his father, the late Bal Thackeray, Uddhav sought support and strength from the Sena cadre, saying the party would bounce back.

“Today I have nothing. But with your support the Shiv Sena will rise again. I will make a Shiv Sena worker chief minister again. We have to defeat the traitors in every election,” he said in an apparent reference to the November 3 Assembly bypoll in Andheri East.