A day after the Thackeray cousins mounted a joint offensive against the ruling alliance from Shivaji Park, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde returned to the same venue on Monday with a counterattack built on the past, playing video clips of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray publicly attacking each other to question the credibility of their sudden unity and their claim that Marathi identity is under threat.

Setting the tone for the rally, Fadnavis said he was “borrowing” the popular phrase ‘Lav re toh video’ before playing a series of short clips in which Uddhav and Raj Thackeray were seen criticising each other in the past over Hindutva, family politics, civic governance, corruption, and leadership style. After the clips were screened, Fadnavis asked the audience, “Do we really need to say anything more in response to these people?”