Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray believes that he and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar [Images] would make for an unbeatable combination in national politics.

In the concluding part of an interview to his party's mouthpiece, Saamna, Thackeray said Maharashtra would have had an upper hand in the country's politics if Pawar had joined hands with him.

Pawar, who heads the Ministry of Agriculture in the Manmohan Singh [Images] cabinet, has so far not reacted Thackeray's observations.

"I will speak openly that if Pawar and I come together, Maharashtra can lead the country," the Sena chief said in the interview.

Thackeray, a known detractor of Pawar, said he still considered the Union agriculture minister his friend.

Arguing that India needs younger and more imaginative leaders, Thackeray said: "These tired people under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...if they themselves are unable to walk, then how will they run the country."

The Sena chief expressed hope that the youth would steer the country towards progress.

On Maharashtra's future, Thackeray said he still had high hopes for the state's better prospects.

Earlier report: Pawar is a friend: Thackeray