Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Friday said his party was fully geared up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and it would welcome anybody willing to go with it in its fight against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Patole was addressing a press conference at Akola in Maharashtra.

Talking about the situation in Maharashtra, where the Congress is in alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), he said, "There is no proposal from Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar to join the alliance. We are ready to discuss it with Ambedkar."

"Congress is fully prepared for the Lok Sabha elections. The party has also decided its candidate for the Akola Lok Sabha constituency. The party nominee from Akola will definitely win the election," he said.

If anyone comes with Congress to fight against BJP, we welcome them, the former Lok Sabha MP said.

Patole hit out at the BJP for inducting leaders from other parties, and said the saffron party was not concerned about the future of unemployed youth in the state.

"The government is only supporting crop insurance companies, not farmers," he alleged.

The Congress leader also claimed that there was a shortage of one lakh teachers in schools across Maharashtra.

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