Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed confidence that the ruling Mahayuti coalition will win the upcoming assembly elections with a “thumping” majority, citing the BJP’s impressive performance in Haryana. Shinde was speaking to reporters late on Thursday night at the Pune airport after returning from Chandigarh, where he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini and the NDA Chief Ministers’ Council Meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shinde said the chief ministers of the NDA-governed states focussed on development and welfare schemes. “There was a general consensus that such meetings should be held twice a year,” he said. “The Haryana election results defied all survey predictions as people acknowledged the work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Shinde, calling Saini a down-to-earth leader.
In the recently concluded assembly polls, the BJP secured an unprecedented third term in Haryana, winning 48 seats in the 90-member assembly. “People in Haryana voted for the ‘double engine’ government, choosing to support the party in power at the centre. Harayana results will be replicated in Maharashtra as we have implemented various welfare schemes, including the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’,” he said.
Maharashtra, with 288 assembly seats, will go to polls on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23. Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, is a Mahayuti partner besides the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. “Comprehensive development efforts are being implemented in the state. I’m confident that Mahayuti will retain power with a thumping majority in the upcoming elections,” he added.
The Mahayuti government is banking on its flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which poor women get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500, to sway voters after the ruling bloc's poor show in the Lok Sabha polls. The Mahayuti will be up against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) of Sharad Pawar.