Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said that the party may contest Assembly elections in other states to "fill the vacuum of Hindutva thought". Thackeray said he was encouraged by his party's performance in the Bihar elections, which it had contested independently and not with the Bharatiya Janata Party, its ally in Maharashtra.

Addressing a press meet in Kalyan, Thackeray said, "I did not visit Bihar, but our leaders including Sanjay Raut campaigned there and we could manage more than two lakh votes. To fill the vacuum of Hindutva thought in the country, henceforth if there is a demand by the party workers we will contest the coming Assembly elections in other states too." The party did not win a single seat in Bihar.

The Shiv Sena has constantly sparred with the BJP in the last month and contested the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation polls in Maharashtra separately. However, after the results were declared, it entered into a pact with the BJP to share the mayor’s post after falling short of the majority. The party’s mouthpiece Saamana on Tuesday had carried an editorial mocking the BJP's performance in the Bihar polls.