NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: For a caste-driven ticket distribution in the rival camps in Maharashtra, the BJP has decided to inject a fair amount of Hindutva to keep its committed vote share.
With a significant number of RSS workers active on the ground who would participate in 60,000 small meetings across the state in the run-up to the assembly polls on November 20, the BJP aims a Haryana redux in the state.
“This time, the Sangh is with us in a more active way, albeit silently, than in previous elections. The Viksit Bharat dream and a host of development schemes for the state will translate into victory for the BJP,” said a senior BJP functionary.
Another BJP leader actively involved in the Maharashtra campaign said a crucial element of the party’s strategy is to expose the opposition's efforts to undermine Hindutva and Bharat, domestically and internationally.
The ruling Mahayuti coalition, comprising BJP, Shivsena (Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar), has nearly finalised seat-sharing arrangements, with the BJP expected to contest around 150-155 seats, followed by Shiv Sena and NCP for the remaining constituencies in the 288-member Assembly.
“To bolster their campaign, the BJP plans to organise rallies across more than two dozen locations where PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior party leaders will address,” said a BJP leader.
Sources indicated that Modi is expected to conduct road shows in major cities like Pune to help polarise the electorate. The party is also set to engage prominent Maratha leaders, such as Vinod Tawde, to enhance its outreach efforts.
Furthermore, the party is making concerted efforts to connect with the growing Buddhist community in the state. The population of Buddhists is substantial, with the 2011 census indicating that about 5.81% of the state’s population identifies itself as Buddhists.
Also in news:
On Budhni battlefield, chacha, bhatija in duel
A war of words has begun between former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh and his successor CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s elder son Kartikey Singh Chouhan ahead of the November 13 bypoll in Chouhan’s bastion, Budhni.
The septuagenarian Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, while taking to the social media platform X on Friday, posted about the 30-year-old Chouhan Jr purported video clip of campaigning in Budhni.
While sharing the video, the Rajya Sabha member posted, “Kartikey, don’t give such speeches from now on. Learn from your father Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In a democracy, both the government and the opposition work together in building the nation. “
Meghalaya CM Conrad’s wife seeks to breach Fort Cong
All eyes are on Gambegre in Meghalaya’s Garo Hills as Dr Mehtab Chandee A Sangma, wife of CM Conrad K Sangma, is making her debut in electoral politics from this Assembly seat in the November 13 by-election. She is among six candidates who filed nominations.
Gambegre is a Congress bastion.
The election of sitting Congress MLA Saleng A Sangma to the Lok Sabha from the Tura seat necessitated the by-poll.
Mehtab, who is from National People’s Party (NPP) that Conrad heads, is facing a tough contest from the candidates of Congress, TMC and BJP, each of them holding sway in the constituency.
The Congress fielded Jingjang Marak, who is a close associate of Saleng.
