LS polls to be battle between dictatorship & democracy: U Thackeray

Mumbai: The upcoming Lok Sabha polls is a battle between dictatorship and democracy, Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction said on Sunday. He claimed that he is not against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah, but "the dictatorial tendencies", PTI reported.

Addressing a public meeting at Dharavi in Mumbai, Thackeray took potshots at the BJP over the "Ab ki baar 400 paar" slogan, saying the saffron party will suffer a defeat.

"We are not against PM Modi and Amit Shah. We have united to defeat the dictatorial tendencies. This generation has a historical responsibility to protect democracy in the country. The 2024 general election is about dictatorship versus democracy," Thackeray added.

He claimed the BJP-led by Modi, wouldn't have crossed the tally of 300 seats in the 2019 elections had Maharashtra not elected 41 candidates from the NDA fold.

"The Opposition slogan will be 'ab ki baar, bjp tadipar'. Maharashtra will take a lead in defeating BJP," Thackeray added.

The NDA alliance comprising the BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided) won 41 out of 48 seats from Maharashtra in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

After the 2019 assembly polls, Thackeray joined hands with the NCP (undivided) and Congress to form Maha Vikas Aghadi and took oath as the chief minister.

The MVA government collapsed in June 2022 after senior Sena leader Eknath Shinde rebelled against Thackeray's leadership.

Shinde formed an alliance with the BJP and became chief minister.

The MVA, comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), has yet to decide the seat-sharing formula for Lok Sabha elections.