Raring to go for Maha polls, Congress says MVA confident of victory

Nashik, Oct 15 (IANS) The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi-INDIA bloc allies asserted that they are ready for the Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled on November 20 and exuded confidence in ousting the ruling MahaYuti regime to capture power.

Leaders of the MVA-INDIA allies Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) said that they have finalised their seat-sharing arrangements, campaign material and other weapons in their political ordnance to clobber the alliance of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party.

Moreover, several leaders including AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala, state president Nana Patole, Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar, SS (UBT)’s Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve, Sanjay Raut, Sushma Andhare, NCP (SP)’s Working President Supriya Sule, state chief Jayant Patil and Anil Deshmukh, and others have said that “the people will not be swayed by the pre-poll gimmicks” of the MahaYuti government.

In a stinging attack on the MahaYuti, Chennithala said that the unconstitutional ruling coalition has indulged in massive corruption and emptied the state coffers in the past two-and-half years in power.

“Though there was no provision for funds, the state government has been making misleading announcements to fool the masses. We are confident that the people will not fall for their pre-election gimmicks and will vote for a change and the development of Maharashtra,” declared Chennithala.

Patole said that barely hours before the polls were announced the MahaYuti government scrapped tolls for light motor vehicles at five Mumbai entry points, indicating the desperation of the ruling alliance leaders.

“Why only Mumbai… Why not waive off tolls for all over Maharashtra? Are the people of the city and the state different… The MahaYuti and BJP have been looting the state since 2014 and resorting to mere sloganeering,” said Patole.

SS (UBT)’s Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve said that the MVA is fully geared up for the polls and will give a massive push to remove the corrupt MahaYuti regime where law and order have completely collapsed.

Patil slammed the manner in which the MahaYuti has emptied the state treasury and the ECI finally announced the election schedule that was delayed.

“We shall contest all the 288 Assembly seats unitedly and expose the ruling alliance, their fake promises and assurances… We shall increase and streamline the money being given under the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme,” said Patil.

Andhare said that the MVA has never opposed the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme, warned the MahaYuti leaders for taking personal credit for the dole which is actually the tax-payers money, and raised objections at the hasty manner in which 7 MLCs nominated by the Governor’s quota in the Upper House were sworn-in today morning.

Patole and Wadettiwar assured that there is no dispute over ‘Big Brother or Small Brother’ with the sole goal of ‘saving Maharashtra’ from economic peril and insecurity owing to lawlessness, atrocities on women, blatant killings, etc.

They added that the people of the state will give a befitting reply to those who allegedly carried out corruption in making the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj which crashed down in barely eight months.

“When the MVA government had given the list of 12 nominees for the Governor quota MLCs, the former Governor (Bhagat Singh Koshyari) did not clear it, then the matter went to the court whose outcome is awaited, yet the MahaYuti went ahead and appointed 7 MLCs today,” said Patole, vowing to file an appeal.

Raut urged the ECI not to make Maharashtra elections go the Haryana style where many objections/doubts were raised on various counts.

“If the ECI claims it is independent – we don’t say so – then it should watch out for all kinds of machinations, the money power, muscle power, misuse of official apparatus, etc, which is rampant in Maharashtra,” urged Raut.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen state President Syed Imtyaz Jaleel rued that for a huge state like Maharashtra, it was expected that the ECI would hold a two-phased election, but “they paid heed to the demands of the ruling alliance.”

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: qnajmi@gmail.com)

--IANS

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