Issues affecting farmers and youth, along with tackling unemployment and inflation, will be the focus of Congress party's manifesto for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly, a senior party functionary said on Wednesday.
The announcement was made by the party's state unit chief, Nana Patole, following a meeting of the party's core committee at the Gandhi Bhavan in South Mumbai.
The elections for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are anticipated to take place in October.
To kick off its campaign, the Congress has planned a rally in Mumbai on August 20, coinciding with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"The party's manifesto committee will be led by former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Today's core committee meeting focused on key issues such as the welfare of farmers and youth, as well as the challenges posed by unemployment and inflation, which will be central to our electoral manifesto," Patole said.
The Mahayuti (comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP) suffered a big blow at the hands of the people of Maharashtra during the recent Lok Sabha elections, he said, and expressed confidence that the people will teach the ruling alliance a lesson in the assembly elections as well.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), demonstrated significant electoral strength by winning 30 out of 48 seats in the state, significantly reducing the BJP's tally from 23 to just nine.
"There is no younger or elder brother within our alliance. The MVA will be the face in the assembly elections. The decision on seat allocation will be based on merit and the decision on the chief ministerial post will be made after the election. Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has also taken the same position," Patole said.
"Preliminary discussions on seat allocation and various issues in the state were held during today's meeting. Prithviraj Chavan will create a manifesto that meets the expectations of the people of the state after consulting with various sections of society. He will create an inclusive manifesto after consulting various sections," he added.
Leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, said the manifesto to be prepared by Chavan will be a joint manifesto of the MVA constituents.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, he said the opposition alliance will hold a joint meeting on August 16 at Shanmukhanand Hall in central Mumbai.
"The MVA will have a common manifesto. We held discussions on a common minimum programme (CMP)," he said.
The MVA had provided a stable government and the entire country had taken note of its good work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Congress's August 20 rally is scheduled to take place at the MMRDA Ground in the Bandra Kurla Complex, with prominent party leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in attendance.
Invitations have also been extended to Uddhav Thackeray, president of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar, chief of the NCP (SP).
Following the core committee meeting, party leader Naseem Khan said that discussions also covered preparations for the rally, seat-sharing arrangements among the MVA allies, and the overall election campaign strategy.
A coordination committee comprising two members from each of the three MVA constituents will negotiate the seat-sharing process.
The NCP (SP) will be represented by state unit chief Jayant Patil and former minister Anil Deshmukh, while the Congress will have Nana Patole and CLP leader Balasaheb Thorat at the table. From Shiv Sena (UBT), MPs Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai will participate in the discussions.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
