AMN / MUMBAI
Campaigning is at full swing across the state for Maharashtra Assembly election. Ministers and senior leaders from all the political parties are addressing rallies or holding press conferences to put forth their points to the voters.
The primary players in the fray are the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
It is an electoral battle of two alliances — the BJP and Shiv Sena on one hand, and the Congress and NCP on the other. For much of the last 20 years, Maharashtra’s politics has revolved around these two alliances, with both sides having enjoyed power at least once.
But unlike most elections in the past, the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections present new challenges for the two alliances, and specifically, for each of the four major parties.
These elections are being held just five months after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which delivered a historic mandate that saw the principal ruling party (the BJP) not only returning to power with a significant majority, but also improving its vote share and seats at the national level.
Pawar attacks Amit shah
Coming down heavily on at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said Mr. Shah at his election rallies speaks less about vital issues afflicting the State and seems more concerned about making personal attacks on him.
“These days, with the poll temperature heating up, a gentleman from Gujarat [Mr. Shah] who has served jail terms in the past, is touring the State…Even though I am not contesting the elections, it is my name that seems to be perpetually on his lips,” Mr. Pawar said.
He accused the Union Home Minister of irrelevantly harping on the Modi government’s scrapping of Article 370 ahead of the Assembly polls as the BJP has nothing else on its agenda. “Mr. Shah, in his speeches, repeatedly demands that I give an explanation on why I did not support the BJP government’s withdrawal of Article 370… This is absurd. Have I done anything procedurally wrong in the Rajya Sabha?”
Mr. Pawar said Mr. Shah’s speeches had nothing on rising farmer suicides, declining growth rate, economic slowdown, and soaring unemployment. “Instead, he [Mr. Shah] keeps harping on how peaceful Kashmir has become while exhorting people to go and do farming there.”
Shiv Sena always played a key role in state’s development: Uddhav Thackeray
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said his party never destabilised the BJP-led government in Maharashtra and always played a key role in the state’s development.
Udhhav Thackeray, whose party suffered a setback when it lost the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat to the AIMIM six months ago, asserted that this time, the Shiv Sena will ensure candidates of the Hyderabad-based outfit lose their security deposit.
“The Shiv Sena has played a vital role in the development of the state. Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray gave the idea of Mumbai-Pune expressway, though the project was completed by (former PWD minister) Nitin Gadkari. Today when Samruddhi Highway (connecting Mumbai with Nagpur) is under-construction, Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena (a minister in the BJP-led government) is playing a key role in it. We never tried to make this government unstable,” he said.
After scrapping Article 370, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, enactment of a Uniform Civil Code and action against Bangladeshi infiltrators should be on agenda now, Udhhav Thackeray said.
Eknath Khadse and Vinod Thawde dropped
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Eknath Khadse and Vinod Thawde, who were dropped from the saffron party’s candidates’ lists to contest the Maharashtra assembly election 2019, have featured in the party’s star campaigners’ list.
While the two leaders would not contest the Maharashtra assembly polls, Eknath Khadse and Vinod Thawde would campaign for the BJP in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election 2019. Voting in the Maharashtra polls has been scheduled for October 21.
After Eknath Khadse and Vinod Thawde names did not appear in any of the candidates’ list, the two BJP leaders put up a brave face and said they accept the decision of the party leadership to not field them in the Maharashtra assembly election 2019.
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