Power That Instills Fear in People Must Be Replaced, Says Uddhav Thackeray

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray,  chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), declared that power which instills fear in people must be replaced, pledging his party's dedication to empowering the public.

If you, the citizenry, fear power, then it has no value, Thackeray told reporters. There is no alternative to replacing power that instills fear in people, and I stand before you with that determination.

Thackeray, whose Shiv Sena (UBT) split from the BJP-led alliance earlier this year, emphasized the need for a closer relationship between citizens and authority. The common citizen should feel close to power, he asserted. We are all working to overthrow the power that instills fear, and I hope the coming year will see happiness, hope, and a flourishing democracy.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut Friday said his party would contest 23 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, and the seat-sharing talks with the Congress have to start from zero as the latter had not won any seat in the previous elections, a statement that drew a sharp response from the state Congress. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress are part of the MVA.