Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday exuded confidence in the ruling Mahayuti and said that it will return to power in Maharashtra with full majority.
Mahayuti, the ruling alliance in the state, consists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Shah, who was speaking to reporters after releasing the BJP‘s manifesto for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly polls, said that all the three alliance partners have released their manifestos and a committee of minister will be constituted after elections to ensure the implementation of the promises made.
When will Mahayuti decide CM face?
The Home Minister revealed that Mahayuti will take a decision on the chief ministerial face after winning the polls with full majority. “At present, Eknath Shinde is the chief minister. After the elections, all the three alliance partners will decide on the chief minister,” he added.
Shah explained that Uddhav Thackeray’s move to prioritise his son Aaditya over Eknath Shinde and Sharad Pawar’s preference of Supriya Sule over Ajit Pawar led to the split in both the Shiv Sena and the NCP. He said this in the backdrop of these parties accusing the BJP of being behind the split, adding that the blame was being made for “no reason”.
Asserting the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s stance on such matters, Shah said his party is against any ‘family-based’ politics.
Further, the Union minister dismissed the Congress’ claims that the BJP was planning to weaken reservations. “It is the Modi government which gave reservations to OBCs. In fact, we strengthen the reservations,” he added.
Shah also took this moment to condemn Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying that his act of showing off the Constitution has been exposed. The Home Minister’s remarks refer to the discovery which showed that the book carried by Rahul consisted of blank pages.
“He (Rahul) has now become the butt of a joke,” Shah remarked.
The opposition group, Maha Vikas Aghadhi, has been levelling accusations against and targeting the Mahayuti government’s Ladki Bahin scheme for women, Shah said, highlighting that MVA however has gone out to make similar assurances with higher financial backing.
“This shows their contradictions. Instead of taking a stock of our performance, Rahul Gandhi should check what is happening in the states ruled by his party,” the Union Home Minister said.
Notably, the grand old Congress party also released its manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on Sunday, giving five guarantees to the people of the state.
The document, released by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, guarantees an annual aid of around ₹3 lakh to every family. Under the party’s Mahalakshmi scheme, financial aid will be given to all women — providing them with ₹3,000 each every month.
Polling for the Maharashtra Assembly will take place on November 20 and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.