The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge will headline a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) rally at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on December 6, where the MVA will announce its poll guarantees.
NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will attend the programme, among others, state Congress leader Nana Patole said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the Congress leaders will attend a ‘Sanvidhan Sanman’ conference in Nagpur, Patole said.
The two events will mark the beginning of a strong post-Diwali election campaign, he said.
Congress state in-charge Ramesh Chennithala said the ongoing conflicts and rebellions over seat-sharing in the MVA will be resolved within two days through discussions.
“There is no remaining dispute over seat-sharing in the Maha Vikas Aghadi. In constituencies where allied parties have filed nominations, they will be withdrawn after talks within two days. Discussions are also ongoing with the Samajwadi Party, and a decision on that will be made soon. There will be no friendly contests within the Maha Vikas Aghadi,” he said.
Chennithala pointed out that there has been more rebellion within the Mahayuti than in the MVA.
At the press conference, the Congress leaders released a progress report on the two years of the Mahayuti government. They claimed that the government has not advanced Maharashtra’s progress but only benefited ministers and MLAs in the alliance.
Chennithala stated that industries from Maharashtra have moved to other states, and while the alliance government has announced several decisions, their implementation is challenging due to lack of funds. He said that the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’ has stalled due to empty treasury. He also expressed confidence that an MVA government would fulfil the people’s aspirations if it comes to power.
The Congress also revealed data on crimes against women in the past two years. There have been 67,381 registered cases of crimes against women – averaging five complaints per hour. They noted that 64,000 girls and women are missing in the state, with 13,000 of these cases reported from Nagpur, the home district of Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The leaders expressed concern over the increasing incidents of such cases in Maharashtra.