Opposition parties have to show big heart in national interest: Shiv Sena (UBT)

Mumbai: Ahead of the meeting of Opposition parties in Patna, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday said if democracy has to survive after 2024, then political parties will have to show a big heart in national interest to instil confidence among voters.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and K Chandrasekhar Roa-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have national ambitions, but this will help Prime Minister Narendra Modi indirectly and support "dictatorship".

Both these parties are in direct contest with the Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in different states. The BRS has been holding rallies in Maharashtra, in a bid to make a foray into the state.

"If democracy has to survive after 2024, then political leaders have to show a big heart for national interest. If all come together, then it will instil confidence among voters," it said.

Top leaders of Opposition parties are meeting in the Bihar capital on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The meeting is being convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. His counterparts in Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal), West Bengal (Mamata Banerjee), Jharkhand (Hemant Soren), Tamil Nadu (M K Stalin). Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray are among leaders attending this meeting.

The editorial said that PM Modi's attempt will be to break the opposition unity by some way or the other.

The BJP will be defeated if there is a direct fight on 450 seats. Many states have shown that despite the tricks, Modi can be defeated, it added.

The rulers who do not believe in law, Constitution and judiciary, can be defeated if opposition leaders earnestly deliberate in the Patna meeting, the Sena (UBT) said.

It will be wrong to say that those opposing the BJP are meeting in Patna, but it is appropriate to say that "patriotic" parties are coming together to save the Constitution and democracy in the country, it said.

The country is heading towards the path of dictatorship. Democracy and freedom are in danger in the country. Modi and his party are of the firm opinion that the opposition must be finished by using central agencies, the party said.

All these are signs of dictatorship, it added.