Maharashtra Assembly Elections: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an opposition coalition of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar's NCP, on Sunday (Nov. 10) released its manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

Led by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, alongside prominent faces like Supriya Sule, Sanjay Raut, and Nana Patole, the alliance laid out its five core promises at a press conference in Mumbai.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/focus-on-women-welfare-food-security-health-bjp-releases-manifesto-for-maharashtra-elections-774981">Focus on women welfare, food security, health: BJP releases manifesto for Maharashtra elections</a>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Maharashtranama, the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s Manifesto for a just, prosperous, and stable Maharashtra, is now out. This comprehensive plan outlines our vision for the future of the state, focusing on inclusive growth, social justice, and sustainable development. 
 
Read it here:… <a href="https://t.co/4PH2ejSIpm">pic.twitter.com/4PH2ejSIpm</a>
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1855535886701928715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<h2>MVA's 'five guarantees'</h2>

These “five guarantees,” as per reports, include the pledge for a comprehensive caste census — a bid to bring representation in line with the state’s complex demographic system. The MVA is also pushing to overturn the 50 per cent cap on reservations.

The manifesto includes the Mahalakshmi scheme which is another cornerstone, under which the coalition vows&nbsp;to offer Rs 3,000 ($35.55) in monthly support to women while promising free state-run bus rides to Maharashtra’s female citizens.

The MVA has also promised full loan waivers for indebted farmers, along with a Rs 25 lakh ($29,627) health insurance cover tailored specifically for the farming community. Additionally, Kharge said they will “give an amount of Rs 50,000&nbsp; ($592) each to farmers who repay their loans on time.”

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-pm-modi-mocks-maha-vikas-aghadi-as-vehicle-without-wheels-or-brakes-at-maharashtra-rally-774626">India: PM Modi mocks Maha Vikas Aghadi as ‘vehicle without wheels or brakes’ at Maharashtra rally</a>

The Congress chief said that these “five guarantees will be helpful in the welfare of all in Maharashtra. Every family will receive an annual aid of about Rs 3 lakh”.

As the November 20 election date nears, the MVA is set to face off with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti, which itself released a manifesto earlier in the day — with a multitude of assurances for the people of Maharashtra. The vote count will be held on November 23.

(With inputs from agencies)

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an opposition coalition of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar's NCP, on Sunday (Nov.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an opposition coalition of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar's NCP, on Sunday (Nov. 10) released its manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Led by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, alongside prominent faces like Supriya Sule, Sanjay Raut, and Nana Patole, the alliance laid out its five core promises at a press conference in Mumbai. Also read | Focus on women welfare, food security, health: BJP releases manifesto for Maharashtra elections Maharashtranama, the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s Manifesto for a just, prosperous, and stable Maharashtra, is now out. This comprehensive plan outlines our vision for the future of the state, focusing on inclusive growth, social justice, and sustainable development. Read it here:… pic.twitter.com/4PH2ejSIpm — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 10, 2024 × MVA's 'five guarantees' These “five guarantees,” as per reports, include the pledge for a comprehensive caste census — a bid to bring representation in line with the state’s complex demographic system. The MVA is also pushing to overturn the 50 per cent cap on reservations. The manifesto includes the Mahalakshmi scheme which is another cornerstone, under which the coalition vows to offer Rs 3,000 ($35.55) in monthly support to women while promising free state-run bus rides to Maharashtra’s female citizens. The MVA has also promised full loan waivers for indebted farmers, along with a Rs 25 lakh ($29,627) health insurance cover tailored specifically for the farming community. Additionally, Kharge said they will “give an amount of Rs 50,000 ($592) each to farmers who repay their loans on time.” Also read | India: PM Modi mocks Maha Vikas Aghadi as ‘vehicle without wheels or brakes’ at Maharashtra rally The Congress chief said that these “five guarantees will be helpful in the welfare of all in Maharashtra. Every family will receive an annual aid of about Rs 3 lakh”. As the November 20 election date nears, the MVA is set to face off with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti, which itself released a manifesto earlier in the day — with a multitude of assurances for the people of Maharashtra. The vote count will be held on November 23. (With inputs from agencies)

MVA releases manifesto ahead of Maharashtra assembly elections: Promises these ‘five guarantees’

India's Election Commission (EC) will announce the schedule of the assembly elections in the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand later on Tuesday (Oct 15), the news agency ANI reported.

India's Election Commission (EC) will announce the schedule of the assembly elections in the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand later on Tuesday (Oct 15), the news agency ANI reported. Officials of the EC will hold a press conference at 3.30 pm IST to announce the schedule of the elections. The term of the 288-seat assembly in Maharashtra would end on November 26, which means that the elections would have to be held before this date. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the term of the 81-seat assembly would end on January 5 next year. JMM to contest all seats in Jharkhand assembly polls: CM Soren On Monday, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that his party- the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)- would contest all 81 seats in the upcoming assembly elections in the state. "I participated in the JMM central committee meeting today along with all other workers and executive committee members. We reviewed our election preparedness and we are confident of winning the assembly elections. The JMM-led alliance will contest all the 81 seats," Chief Minister Soren told reporters after attending a central committee meeting of the JMM. He said unlike the opposition BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), the JMM-led alliance does not believe in making only announcements as it executed several welfare schemes. (With inputs from agencies)

India's Election Commission to announce schedule for Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly polls today

The Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate and Congress leader Nana Patole was elected as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker unopposed on Sunday. Earlier BJP's nominee for the Speaker Kisan Kathore pulled out of the race in order to keep up with the tradition of electing the speaker unopposed.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate and Congress leader Nana Patole was elected as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker unopposed on Sunday. Earlier BJP's nominee for the Speaker Kisan Kathore pulled out of the race in order to keep up with the tradition of electing the speaker unopposed. ''We had nominated Kisan Kathore for the post of assembly speaker, but in the all-party meeting, other parties requested us and it has been a tradition that speaker is appointed unopposed, so we accepted the request&withdrew our candidate's name,'' said BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The #MahaVikasAghadi candidate & Congress leader Nana Patole has been elected as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker. pic.twitter.com/SAgE24kR0C — ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2019 × Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minsiter Uddhav Thackeray said in the assembly that Nana Patole has also come from a farmer family and he was confident that Patole will give justice to everyone. Earlier Nationalist Congress Party's Chagan Bhujbal said that Opposition had filled the form for the post of Assembly Speaker, but after a request by other MLAs and to keep the dignity of Assembly intact, they have taken back the name.

Congress leader Nana Patole elected as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker unopposed

Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said People of Maharashtra want chief minister from Shiv Sena, reported news agency ANI.

The comment came a day after Raut called on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at his residence in South Mumbai, triggering speculation about the possible formation of an alternative government in the state.

''If Shiv Sena decides, it'll get the required numbers to form a stable government in the state. People have given the mandate to form a government based on 50-50 formula that was reached in front of people of Maharashtra. They want chief minister from Shiv Sena,'' the Sena leader was quoted as saying.

A week after the results for the October 21 Assembly elections were announced, there appeared to be no headway in government formation in Maharashtra, with allies BJP and Shiv Sena still at loggerheads over the quantum of power-sharing.

While BJP is willing to offer the deputy chief minister post to Sena. However, Sena is insisting on 50-50 formula and wants rotational CM post.&nbsp;

Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said People of Maharashtra want chief minister from Shiv Sena, reported news agency ANI. The comment came a day after Raut called on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at his residence in South Mumbai, triggering speculation about the possible formation of an alternative government in the state.

Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said People of Maharashtra want chief minister from Shiv Sena, reported news agency ANI. The comment came a day after Raut called on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at his residence in South Mumbai, triggering speculation about the possible formation of an alternative government in the state. ''If Shiv Sena decides, it'll get the required numbers to form a stable government in the state. People have given the mandate to form a government based on 50-50 formula that was reached in front of people of Maharashtra. They want chief minister from Shiv Sena,'' the Sena leader was quoted as saying. A week after the results for the October 21 Assembly elections were announced, there appeared to be no headway in government formation in Maharashtra, with allies BJP and Shiv Sena still at loggerheads over the quantum of power-sharing. While BJP is willing to offer the deputy chief minister post to Sena. However, Sena is insisting on 50-50 formula and wants rotational CM post.

People of Maharashtra want chief minister from Shiv Sena, says Sanjay Raut

Haryana voted en masse for the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha election and gave Narendra Modi all 10 Lok Sabha seats. But that's just that. The BJP found itself unable to convert the widespread support for the Prime Minister into a mandate for its government led by Manohar Lal Khattar. This, despite the fact that the party managed to increase its vote share over its 2014 performance.

The BJP won 40 of the 90 constituencies in the Haryana Assembly, which means it is six seats short of the simple majority needed to form a government on its own. It scored 36.45 per cent of the votes, which was an increase of 3.25 percentage points over its 2014 performance of 33.2 per cent, which had give it 47 seats in the Assembly.

However, the sticking point that led most observers to expect a massive electoral sweep for the BJP in the 2019 Assembly election was the fact that the party had received a mind-boggling 58 per cent of the votes. This was an extremely steep increase from the 34.84 per cent the party had scored in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

However, this very real Modi wave doesn't seem to have translated to the Assembly elections for the BJP.

The Congress managed to hold on to its vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and notched an increase of eight percentage points over its score in the 2014 Assembly elections. This gave the party victories in 31 seats, up from 15 seats in 2014.

But, if the BJP's vote share increased and the Congress's vote share increased, where did these votes come from? The likely answer to that is that they came from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which crashed from an inelastic and steady vote share between 22 and 24 percentage points over the past few elections to a mere 2.45 per cent.

The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which broke away from the INLD in a family feud, seemed to be the biggest beneficiary of the INLD's decimation. The fledgeling party managed to score victories in 10 seats. The JJP's vote share was not presented separately by the Election Commission of India since it is not yet recognised. Whether the votes that abandoned the INLD vote shifted in totality to the JJP remains to be seen.

Simply put, this many not exactly have been a vote against the government of ML Khattar. It is just that vote bloc migrations as a result of the collapse of the INLD put in place a situation where the increases in vote share just didn't convert into seats for the BJP. Only one thing is certain, there was a massive Modi wave in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, and the Prime Minister's popularity need not necessarily translate to victories for the Chief Ministers he put in place over the past five years. 
 
(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-haryana-election-result-shows-pm-modi-s-popularity-does-not-automatically-assure-bjp-victory-2798544">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Haryana voted en masse for the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha election and gave Narendra Modi all 10 Lok Sabha seats. But that's just that. The BJP found itself unable to convert the widespread support for the Prime Minister into a mandate for its government led by Manohar Lal Khattar.

Haryana voted en masse for the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha election and gave Narendra Modi all 10 Lok Sabha seats. But that's just that. The BJP found itself unable to convert the widespread support for the Prime Minister into a mandate for its government led by Manohar Lal Khattar. This, despite the fact that the party managed to increase its vote share over its 2014 performance. The BJP won 40 of the 90 constituencies in the Haryana Assembly, which means it is six seats short of the simple majority needed to form a government on its own. It scored 36.45 per cent of the votes, which was an increase of 3.25 percentage points over its 2014 performance of 33.2 per cent, which had give it 47 seats in the Assembly. However, the sticking point that led most observers to expect a massive electoral sweep for the BJP in the 2019 Assembly election was the fact that the party had received a mind-boggling 58 per cent of the votes. This was an extremely steep increase from the 34.84 per cent the party had scored in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. However, this very real Modi wave doesn't seem to have translated to the Assembly elections for the BJP. The Congress managed to hold on to its vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and notched an increase of eight percentage points over its score in the 2014 Assembly elections. This gave the party victories in 31 seats, up from 15 seats in 2014. But, if the BJP's vote share increased and the Congress's vote share increased, where did these votes come from? The likely answer to that is that they came from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which crashed from an inelastic and steady vote share between 22 and 24 percentage points over the past few elections to a mere 2.45 per cent. The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which broke away from the INLD in a family feud, seemed to be the biggest beneficiary of the INLD's decimation. The fledgeling party managed to score victories in 10 seats. The JJP's vote share was not presented separately by the Election Commission of India since it is not yet recognised. Whether the votes that abandoned the INLD vote shifted in totality to the JJP remains to be seen. Simply put, this many not exactly have been a vote against the government of ML Khattar. It is just that vote bloc migrations as a result of the collapse of the INLD put in place a situation where the increases in vote share just didn't convert into seats for the BJP. Only one thing is certain, there was a massive Modi wave in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, and the Prime Minister's popularity need not necessarily translate to victories for the Chief Ministers he put in place over the past five years. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Haryana election result shows PM Modi's popularity does not automatically assure BJP victory

It is high time that such a charade is put to an end forever. Election after election, the absurd pretence has been thrust on the people in the form of the so-called exit polls and countless hours of mundane analysis on something which is a far cry from reality. Soon after the polling is over, broadcasting channels go gung ho-over their predictable election outcome without any iota of shame when they are so off the mark when the final results come in.

In a country as vast as India, is it advisable to bank on the opinion of a few voters leaving a polling station after they have cast their vote? What is the guarantee that the voter is not lying? Moreover, in many instances, it has been found that there is a pronounced contrasting pattern of voting in constituencies. Do the media channels cover each and every constituency? Importantly, a very small sample of population is covered for exit poll and a very few constituencies are targeted. Predicting the results of an election with around 900 million voters is awfully difficult. This is the reason why there is a boomerang effect on such predictions.

The case in point is the 2004 Exit Polls when almost all the major television channels went horribly wrong when they predicted the return of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s NDA government. To their shock, the Congress-led UPA emerged victorious. Again in the Delhi assembly elections in 2015, the predicted victory margin of the Aam Aadmi Party was nowhere close to the reality when it bagged 60 of the 70 assembly seats. And in the latest case, all pollsters, except the India Today, predicted the humungous victory of the Manohar Lal Khattar government between 71 to 80 seats in the 90-member House. The performance of Khattar-led Bharatiya Janata Party was nowhere close to the expectations as it could not even achieve a simple majority leading to the hung house. The Congress, which most exit polls predicted to win between 11-12 seats, went on to win 31 seats.

What has often been seen that a media channel propounding the cause of a particular political party tends to defend as well as predicting its victory? And when the shocking election results are announced, the channel would not eat the crow. It is an open secret that most of the Indian media channels, barring a very few, are biased and they tend to overzealously favour a particular political party (no prizes for guessing), often jeopardising their authenticity.

When the ludicrous exit polls are beamed, it has a cascading effect. Besides the usual spectacle in the news channels, there is eruption on social media. They too join the party, take over from the channels and start expressing their political views. Amidst all this frenzy, who gets martyred? Investors! The stock exchanges too react to the exit polls and sometimes a fortune is wiped out. The markets open disastrously if a defeat is predicted for the incumbent ruling party or the possibility of a rag-tag coalition government.&nbsp;

Given the vast difference between the predicted and actual results, these Exit Polls should do well to widen their sample size to arrive at a more realistic opinion.

&nbsp;(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp;

It is high time that such a charade is put to an end forever. Election after election, the absurd pretence has been thrust on the people in the form of the so-called exit polls and countless hours of mundane analysis on something which is a far cry from reality.

It is high time that such a charade is put to an end forever. Election after election, the absurd pretence has been thrust on the people in the form of the so-called exit polls and countless hours of mundane analysis on something which is a far cry from reality. Soon after the polling is over, broadcasting channels go gung ho-over their predictable election outcome without any iota of shame when they are so off the mark when the final results come in. In a country as vast as India, is it advisable to bank on the opinion of a few voters leaving a polling station after they have cast their vote? What is the guarantee that the voter is not lying? Moreover, in many instances, it has been found that there is a pronounced contrasting pattern of voting in constituencies. Do the media channels cover each and every constituency? Importantly, a very small sample of population is covered for exit poll and a very few constituencies are targeted. Predicting the results of an election with around 900 million voters is awfully difficult. This is the reason why there is a boomerang effect on such predictions. The case in point is the 2004 Exit Polls when almost all the major television channels went horribly wrong when they predicted the return of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s NDA government. To their shock, the Congress-led UPA emerged victorious. Again in the Delhi assembly elections in 2015, the predicted victory margin of the Aam Aadmi Party was nowhere close to the reality when it bagged 60 of the 70 assembly seats. And in the latest case, all pollsters, except the India Today, predicted the humungous victory of the Manohar Lal Khattar government between 71 to 80 seats in the 90-member House. The performance of Khattar-led Bharatiya Janata Party was nowhere close to the expectations as it could not even achieve a simple majority leading to the hung house. The Congress, which most exit polls predicted to win between 11-12 seats, went on to win 31 seats. What has often been seen that a media channel propounding the cause of a particular political party tends to defend as well as predicting its victory? And when the shocking election results are announced, the channel would not eat the crow. It is an open secret that most of the Indian media channels, barring a very few, are biased and they tend to overzealously favour a particular political party (no prizes for guessing), often jeopardising their authenticity. When the ludicrous exit polls are beamed, it has a cascading effect. Besides the usual spectacle in the news channels, there is eruption on social media. They too join the party, take over from the channels and start expressing their political views. Amidst all this frenzy, who gets martyred? Investors! The stock exchanges too react to the exit polls and sometimes a fortune is wiped out. The markets open disastrously if a defeat is predicted for the incumbent ruling party or the possibility of a rag-tag coalition government. Given the vast difference between the predicted and actual results, these Exit Polls should do well to widen their sample size to arrive at a more realistic opinion. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Why Exit Polls in India often go wrong?

The results of Assembly elections&nbsp;in Maharashtra and Haryana should set the &nbsp;BJP leadership rethink about their ‘winning’ formula. Do they need to reinvent this formula as it doesn’t seem to be working as effectively in the state assembly polls as it has worked in the national elections.

A key takeaway from these poll results is that people in India vote differently for the assembly and the parliamentary polls. While at the national level, the national leadership and the ideology of a party have a decisive impact on the poll outcome, in Assembly polls there are multiple factors that influence the poll outcome such as local leadership, ticket distribution, caste, number of parties that are contesting, profile of individual candidates and tactical understanding between different players in multi-cornered contest. But most importantly, it is the anti-incumbency that plays a significant role in assembly polls. &nbsp;&nbsp;

On all the above parameters, the performance of the BJP has been credible. It has turned upside down the key political dictum of Indian politics i.e. most governments have to be voted out of power after one term. In most of the states where the BJP has captured power, it has been able to make a comeback, even if with reduced numbers. It is a significant achievement and it underlines the fact that people believe that the BJP tries to provide good governance. In some spheres, it is able to deliver and in some spheres it is not.

But overall, the BJP has been able to build an image of a party that is concerned more with governance and less with the self-interest of the individuals. If one looks at the Assembly results of both Haryana and Maharashtra from this perspective, one would be able to understand that how the BJP lost some seats in both the states but still remains the most preferred party.

Another important takeaway from these poll results is that the Congress Party needs to shun Rahul Gandhi completely if it is interested in revival. It is clear from these poll results that Congress has performed much better than even its own expectation. One of the primary reasons for this performance is the stepping down of Rahul Gandhi. It is a well-known fact that Rahul Gandhi had backed Ashok Tanwar in Haryana and not BS Hooda.

The latter was backed by Sonia Gandhi after she again took over the reins of the Congress recently leading to exit of Rahul loyalist Ashok Tanwar. And it is former Chief Minister BS Hooda who has spearheaded the revival of Congress in Haryana.&nbsp;

The Assembly poll results would surely lead to the next round of power struggle within the Congress as the old guard is likely to strike back with greater confidence after the party has performed well without Rahul Gandhi. One of the possible outcomes of this revival of the old guard could be the comeback of Rahul as the Party President much sooner than expected as he is likely to feel more and more insecure in days to come. It would be interesting to see how long Sonia can protect him from this power struggle.

Meanwhile, the BJP also needs to go back and rethink about the gap between expectations and actual performance on the ground. &nbsp;The party needs to review where did it go wrong in Haryana and how it could have improved its tally further in Maharashtra. &nbsp;The formidable organisational network of the BJP has become probably vulnerable at the local level in certain places and the party need not overlook that.

The party also needs to rethink about the utility of high decibel campaigns. Such campaigns are effective only when they are backed by organisational outreach at the grassroots level. It seems that many ‘members’ or ‘party workers’ didn’t do the task assigned to them at the grassroots level. 
 
There was intense infighting in the party units in both the states. The same situation prevails in the state of Jharkhand and Delhi also which are going to go to polls soon.

It remains to be seen now, which of the party’s learn from these polls and do not repeat its past mistakes. If the Congress wants to revive and challenge the BJP, it needs to keep Rahul Gandhi far away, if the BJP wants to win back Delhi and retain Jharkhand, it needs to review its organisational outreach at the grassroots level and control infighting within its state units. 
 
It also needs to look at some of the distress signals in the economic sphere that affect day to day lives of the common people. The BJP must not forget amidst its high decibel campaign that ‘for a hungry man, utopia is a world full of food.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

The results of Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana should set the BJP leadership rethink about their ‘winning’ formula. Do they need to reinvent this formula as it doesn’t seem to be working as effectively in the state assembly polls as it has worked in the national elections.

The results of Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana should set the BJP leadership rethink about their ‘winning’ formula. Do they need to reinvent this formula as it doesn’t seem to be working as effectively in the state assembly polls as it has worked in the national elections. A key takeaway from these poll results is that people in India vote differently for the assembly and the parliamentary polls. While at the national level, the national leadership and the ideology of a party have a decisive impact on the poll outcome, in Assembly polls there are multiple factors that influence the poll outcome such as local leadership, ticket distribution, caste, number of parties that are contesting, profile of individual candidates and tactical understanding between different players in multi-cornered contest. But most importantly, it is the anti-incumbency that plays a significant role in assembly polls. On all the above parameters, the performance of the BJP has been credible. It has turned upside down the key political dictum of Indian politics i.e. most governments have to be voted out of power after one term. In most of the states where the BJP has captured power, it has been able to make a comeback, even if with reduced numbers. It is a significant achievement and it underlines the fact that people believe that the BJP tries to provide good governance. In some spheres, it is able to deliver and in some spheres it is not. But overall, the BJP has been able to build an image of a party that is concerned more with governance and less with the self-interest of the individuals. If one looks at the Assembly results of both Haryana and Maharashtra from this perspective, one would be able to understand that how the BJP lost some seats in both the states but still remains the most preferred party. Another important takeaway from these poll results is that the Congress Party needs to shun Rahul Gandhi completely if it is interested in revival. It is clear from these poll results that Congress has performed much better than even its own expectation. One of the primary reasons for this performance is the stepping down of Rahul Gandhi. It is a well-known fact that Rahul Gandhi had backed Ashok Tanwar in Haryana and not BS Hooda. The latter was backed by Sonia Gandhi after she again took over the reins of the Congress recently leading to exit of Rahul loyalist Ashok Tanwar. And it is former Chief Minister BS Hooda who has spearheaded the revival of Congress in Haryana. The Assembly poll results would surely lead to the next round of power struggle within the Congress as the old guard is likely to strike back with greater confidence after the party has performed well without Rahul Gandhi. One of the possible outcomes of this revival of the old guard could be the comeback of Rahul as the Party President much sooner than expected as he is likely to feel more and more insecure in days to come. It would be interesting to see how long Sonia can protect him from this power struggle. Meanwhile, the BJP also needs to go back and rethink about the gap between expectations and actual performance on the ground. The party needs to review where did it go wrong in Haryana and how it could have improved its tally further in Maharashtra. The formidable organisational network of the BJP has become probably vulnerable at the local level in certain places and the party need not overlook that. The party also needs to rethink about the utility of high decibel campaigns. Such campaigns are effective only when they are backed by organisational outreach at the grassroots level. It seems that many ‘members’ or ‘party workers’ didn’t do the task assigned to them at the grassroots level. There was intense infighting in the party units in both the states. The same situation prevails in the state of Jharkhand and Delhi also which are going to go to polls soon. It remains to be seen now, which of the party’s learn from these polls and do not repeat its past mistakes. If the Congress wants to revive and challenge the BJP, it needs to keep Rahul Gandhi far away, if the BJP wants to win back Delhi and retain Jharkhand, it needs to review its organisational outreach at the grassroots level and control infighting within its state units. It also needs to look at some of the distress signals in the economic sphere that affect day to day lives of the common people. The BJP must not forget amidst its high decibel campaign that ‘for a hungry man, utopia is a world full of food. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Assembly election results: Lessons BJP and Congress need to learn

Devendra Fadnavis is only the second Chief Minister after Vasantrao Naik to complete his full term in office. His rise from being the Mayor of Nagpur to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is a telling commentary on how meritocracy rules the wealthiest state in India, which also happens to be the second most populous state and the third-largest in terms of area. Even the first non-Congress government in the state, led by the Shiv Sena from 1995-1999 (the BJP was part of the coalition, but a junior partner then) saw two Chief Ministers, with Manohar Joshi being replaced by Narayan Rane, in the last year.

His achievements include the "Right to Services" bill, with 'Aaple Sarkar' online portal providing a total of 403 online services that benefitted over 14 lakh citizens; the 'Atal Maha Aarogya' camp that has proven beneficial to 24 lakh patients in the state; starting work on Metro routes of which 298km is in various stages of construction. He took major steps to decongest Mumbai, making Mumbai a "WiFi City" with over 1700 hotspots, installed over 5000 CCTV cameras to make the city safer, made 1052 police stations online, closing 11 toll nakas in the state and extended discounts to light motor vehicles on 52 toll nakas. Speeding up the process for the international airport in Navi Mumbai, he initiated projects to set up as many as 10 airports in the state in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.&nbsp;

Fadnavis also ensured better connectivity, the allocation of funds for the Mumbai-Delhi industrial corridor, securing clearances for the "Chhatrapati Shivaji" sea memorial and the "Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial" at Indu Mills, achieving the digitisation process of as many as 66458 schools, and ensured that 2750 MW of power capacity is added. He sanctioned 10 smart city projects, started work on the Bandra-Virar-CST-Panvel elevated railway corridor, kickstarted the 712 km Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi super expressway which will connect 24 districts of the state and set up the first automatic weather station in Dongargaon in Nagpur in 2017.&nbsp;

These are only some of the sterling examples of how Devendra Fadnavis has made the "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance" model successful, his abiding work ethic. Most importantly, the rate of conviction for crimes has gone up from 9% to a staggering 52% and cyber labs have been set up in all districts of the state.

The pro-farmer Fadnavis government, which announced a farm loan write-off package of Rs 34,022 crore in June 2017 for all farmers with a Rs 1.5 lakh debt, has spent Rs 50,000 crore for farmer welfare in the last five years, as comparison to the less than Rs 20,000 crore in 15 years of the corrupt Congress-NCP rule. After 151 talukas were found affected by drought earlier this year, Fadnavis assured that more than 52 lakh farmers have received compensation of Rs 2700 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Crop Insurance Scheme. With a view to providing weather-related information and digital kiosks in all gram panchayats to farmers in real-time, the project "Mahavedh" has been made operational in all 2060 revenue circles in the state.

Under the 'Jalyukta Shivar Yojana', one of the biggest water rejuvenation initiatives in recent times, more than 16,000 villages across the state have become water neutral. Over six lakh works have been completed, which has created a water storage capacity of over 26.90 lakh TCM. Also, under the 'Galmukt Dharan Ani Galyukt Shivar' (salt-free dams and fertile farms) scheme, 3.23 crore cubic metres of silt has been removed from 5270 reservoirs, which benefitted as many as 31150 farmers. The 'Farm Pond on Demand' scheme has received the Prime Minister's award as one of the 10 best innovative initiatives, with over 1.37 lakh farm ponds having been created under the scheme. Apart from economic progress, one of the high points of the Fadnavis government is undoubtedly the sheer efficacy with which it passed the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) bill, to live up to the promises made to the Maratha community. That Fadnavis himself is a Brahmin and still skillfully resolved the contentious Maratha issue, makes this achievement even more commendable, testifying him as political savvy in matters of realpolitik. The SEBC Act provides for 12% and 13% reservation in education and government jobs.

The 'Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Ahaar Yojana' is being implemented on a war footing in tribal areas to tackle the problem of malnutrition and anaemia and has already benefitted over 1.59 lakh pregnant women and lactating mothers. Maharashtra bagged the third rank in health index throughout the country. As part of the Bharat Net, Maha Net, which has already reached out to over 60% of Maharashtra's targetted villages, is a classic example of how robust connectivity will empower every single citizen to leverage on digital governance and digital economy. The Employment Guarantee Scheme, too, has been a huge success. Around 36.54 lakh families have benefitted through Women's saving groups.&nbsp;

To achieve the goal of 'Affordable Housing for All by 2022', more than 10.5 lakh beneficiaries have been registered under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural) and 7.65 lakh houses have been built. Further, nearly 30000 km of rural roads are being upgraded in rural areas under the "Chief Minister Gram Sadak Yojana", with 8900 km of works being completed.

To sum it up, the spectacular "Maha Janadesh Yatra" by CM Devendra Fadnavis, which covered a distance of 4232 km, spread over 104 rallies and almost all the 36 districts in the state, was not merely a show of strength or a measure of the BJP-led government's outstanding "performance report card" in the last five years. The "Yatra" has signalled, in more ways than one, the unbridled popularity and excellent mass connect that Chief Minister Fadnavis enjoys, cutting across caste, creed, social, gender and demographic barriers if any.

&nbsp;(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/report-the-fadnavis-juggernaut-2797311">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

Devendra Fadnavis is only the second Chief Minister after Vasantrao Naik to complete his full term in office. His rise from being the Mayor of Nagpur to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is a telling commentary on how meritocracy rules the wealthiest state in India, which also happens to be the second most populous state and the third-largest in terms of area.

Devendra Fadnavis is only the second Chief Minister after Vasantrao Naik to complete his full term in office. His rise from being the Mayor of Nagpur to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is a telling commentary on how meritocracy rules the wealthiest state in India, which also happens to be the second most populous state and the third-largest in terms of area. Even the first non-Congress government in the state, led by the Shiv Sena from 1995-1999 (the BJP was part of the coalition, but a junior partner then) saw two Chief Ministers, with Manohar Joshi being replaced by Narayan Rane, in the last year. His achievements include the "Right to Services" bill, with 'Aaple Sarkar' online portal providing a total of 403 online services that benefitted over 14 lakh citizens; the 'Atal Maha Aarogya' camp that has proven beneficial to 24 lakh patients in the state; starting work on Metro routes of which 298km is in various stages of construction. He took major steps to decongest Mumbai, making Mumbai a "WiFi City" with over 1700 hotspots, installed over 5000 CCTV cameras to make the city safer, made 1052 police stations online, closing 11 toll nakas in the state and extended discounts to light motor vehicles on 52 toll nakas. Speeding up the process for the international airport in Navi Mumbai, he initiated projects to set up as many as 10 airports in the state in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Fadnavis also ensured better connectivity, the allocation of funds for the Mumbai-Delhi industrial corridor, securing clearances for the "Chhatrapati Shivaji" sea memorial and the "Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial" at Indu Mills, achieving the digitisation process of as many as 66458 schools, and ensured that 2750 MW of power capacity is added. He sanctioned 10 smart city projects, started work on the Bandra-Virar-CST-Panvel elevated railway corridor, kickstarted the 712 km Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi super expressway which will connect 24 districts of the state and set up the first automatic weather station in Dongargaon in Nagpur in 2017. These are only some of the sterling examples of how Devendra Fadnavis has made the "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance" model successful, his abiding work ethic. Most importantly, the rate of conviction for crimes has gone up from 9% to a staggering 52% and cyber labs have been set up in all districts of the state. The pro-farmer Fadnavis government, which announced a farm loan write-off package of Rs 34,022 crore in June 2017 for all farmers with a Rs 1.5 lakh debt, has spent Rs 50,000 crore for farmer welfare in the last five years, as comparison to the less than Rs 20,000 crore in 15 years of the corrupt Congress-NCP rule. After 151 talukas were found affected by drought earlier this year, Fadnavis assured that more than 52 lakh farmers have received compensation of Rs 2700 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Crop Insurance Scheme. With a view to providing weather-related information and digital kiosks in all gram panchayats to farmers in real-time, the project "Mahavedh" has been made operational in all 2060 revenue circles in the state. Under the 'Jalyukta Shivar Yojana', one of the biggest water rejuvenation initiatives in recent times, more than 16,000 villages across the state have become water neutral. Over six lakh works have been completed, which has created a water storage capacity of over 26.90 lakh TCM. Also, under the 'Galmukt Dharan Ani Galyukt Shivar' (salt-free dams and fertile farms) scheme, 3.23 crore cubic metres of silt has been removed from 5270 reservoirs, which benefitted as many as 31150 farmers. The 'Farm Pond on Demand' scheme has received the Prime Minister's award as one of the 10 best innovative initiatives, with over 1.37 lakh farm ponds having been created under the scheme. Apart from economic progress, one of the high points of the Fadnavis government is undoubtedly the sheer efficacy with which it passed the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) bill, to live up to the promises made to the Maratha community. That Fadnavis himself is a Brahmin and still skillfully resolved the contentious Maratha issue, makes this achievement even more commendable, testifying him as political savvy in matters of realpolitik. The SEBC Act provides for 12% and 13% reservation in education and government jobs. The 'Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Ahaar Yojana' is being implemented on a war footing in tribal areas to tackle the problem of malnutrition and anaemia and has already benefitted over 1.59 lakh pregnant women and lactating mothers. Maharashtra bagged the third rank in health index throughout the country. As part of the Bharat Net, Maha Net, which has already reached out to over 60% of Maharashtra's targetted villages, is a classic example of how robust connectivity will empower every single citizen to leverage on digital governance and digital economy. The Employment Guarantee Scheme, too, has been a huge success. Around 36.54 lakh families have benefitted through Women's saving groups. To achieve the goal of 'Affordable Housing for All by 2022', more than 10.5 lakh beneficiaries have been registered under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural) and 7.65 lakh houses have been built. Further, nearly 30000 km of rural roads are being upgraded in rural areas under the "Chief Minister Gram Sadak Yojana", with 8900 km of works being completed. To sum it up, the spectacular "Maha Janadesh Yatra" by CM Devendra Fadnavis, which covered a distance of 4232 km, spread over 104 rallies and almost all the 36 districts in the state, was not merely a show of strength or a measure of the BJP-led government's outstanding "performance report card" in the last five years. The "Yatra" has signalled, in more ways than one, the unbridled popularity and excellent mass connect that Chief Minister Fadnavis enjoys, cutting across caste, creed, social, gender and demographic barriers if any. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Devendra Fadnavis enjoys unbridled popularity and excellent mass connect

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold three public rallies in Akola, Jalna and Panvel in poll-bound Maharashtra on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister kicked off his election campaign in the state from Jalgaon and Sakoli on October 13.

Just like his previous rallies, he is likely to emphasise on the Centre`s work including triple talaq, National Register of Citizens (NRC), and abrogation of article 370 as well as highlight the schemes implemented by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led government.

In its manifesto, the BJP has promised to generate 1 crore jobs in the state, sanitary napkin at Rs 1 for women, all the village panchayat to be connected via broadband internet, every district to have ATAL Vigyan Kendra and to get the investment of Rs 5 lakh crore in infrastructure projects, among others.

As the state has a large number of farmers, the issues of farm loan waivers and crop insurance hold importance for the BJP.

Earlier, Union Minister Smriti had said that Prime Minister is campaigning in Maharashtra to guide and encourage candidates of the BJP.

The last date for campaigning for the election is October 19. Single-phase polls in Maharashtra will be held on October 21 and results will be announced on October 24.&nbsp;

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold three public rallies in Akola, Jalna and Panvel in poll-bound Maharashtra on Wednesday. The Prime Minister kicked off his election campaign in the state from Jalgaon and Sakoli on October 13.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold three public rallies in Akola, Jalna and Panvel in poll-bound Maharashtra on Wednesday. The Prime Minister kicked off his election campaign in the state from Jalgaon and Sakoli on October 13. Just like his previous rallies, he is likely to emphasise on the Centre`s work including triple talaq, National Register of Citizens (NRC), and abrogation of article 370 as well as highlight the schemes implemented by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led government. In its manifesto, the BJP has promised to generate 1 crore jobs in the state, sanitary napkin at Rs 1 for women, all the village panchayat to be connected via broadband internet, every district to have ATAL Vigyan Kendra and to get the investment of Rs 5 lakh crore in infrastructure projects, among others. As the state has a large number of farmers, the issues of farm loan waivers and crop insurance hold importance for the BJP. Earlier, Union Minister Smriti had said that Prime Minister is campaigning in Maharashtra to guide and encourage candidates of the BJP. The last date for campaigning for the election is October 19. Single-phase polls in Maharashtra will be held on October 21 and results will be announced on October 24.

PM Modi to hold 3 rallies in poll-bound Maharashtra today

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had suddenly left the country and thrown the Congress in a quandary midway during electioneering for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections. He is now back in&nbsp;the scene, obviously for damage control. How much Rahul has been able to cement the fractured party organisation and its election machine could be gauged from the fact that local Congress leaders like Sanjay Nirupam and Milind Deora were absent during his rally at the Dharavi slums on Sunday 13th October.

At his Mumbai rally ahead of the October 21 poll in Maharashtra, it appeared that Rahul was flogging a dead horse when he raised the Rafale issue. The well tutored Congress crowd also joined him and raised the 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' slogan, which translated into English would mean “the watchdog is a thief’. It was used extensively by the Congress during Rahul Gandhi's election rallies for the Lok Sabha poll earlier this year.

How can Rahul be oblivious to the fact that the voters have already rejected this slogan and the results are before us. The first lot of Rafale aircraft has also joined the IAF and this has hiked the level of confidence among the people when it comes to national security and defence. Rahul’s current posture shows that he has completely lost “the connect” with the people.

The Congress party is also in the dock as it is facing the charge that it been continuously parroting the same stand that’s been taken by Imran Khan and Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir and Article 370. &nbsp;

Addressing an election rally at Jalgaon in Maharashtra on Sunday Narendra Modi challenged the Opposition saying that the opposition should state in its election manifesto that they would restore Article 370 if they returned to power. He also said that Kashmir is the crown of India and not “just a piece of land”. Patting his government for the abrogation of Article 370 in the larger interest of the people, the PM has drawn attention to the situation in Kashmir that had been allowed to deteriorate over the last many decades and said that normalcy will be restored in J&amp;K in four months.

Besides, what’s going to prove the waterloo for Congress ally &nbsp;- the Nationalist Congress Party in this election is the case of former Civil Aviation Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel. His name has suddenly shot up in the news as the Enforcement Directorate has started probing an alleged land deal between a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim and a company promoted by Patel and his family. His contradiction notwithstanding, the damage has already been done.

For popular support, BJP is banking heavily on its last word vis-a-vis J&amp;K and Article 370 in the present round of elections. Its election campaign also has been capped with the positives of the Modi government’s welfare policies. With the Congress-NCP campaign in doldrums, the outcome of the Maharastra Assembly election&nbsp;would be on predictable lines.&nbsp; 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had suddenly left the country and thrown the Congress in a quandary midway during electioneering for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had suddenly left the country and thrown the Congress in a quandary midway during electioneering for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections. He is now back in the scene, obviously for damage control. How much Rahul has been able to cement the fractured party organisation and its election machine could be gauged from the fact that local Congress leaders like Sanjay Nirupam and Milind Deora were absent during his rally at the Dharavi slums on Sunday 13th October. At his Mumbai rally ahead of the October 21 poll in Maharashtra, it appeared that Rahul was flogging a dead horse when he raised the Rafale issue. The well tutored Congress crowd also joined him and raised the 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' slogan, which translated into English would mean “the watchdog is a thief’. It was used extensively by the Congress during Rahul Gandhi's election rallies for the Lok Sabha poll earlier this year. How can Rahul be oblivious to the fact that the voters have already rejected this slogan and the results are before us. The first lot of Rafale aircraft has also joined the IAF and this has hiked the level of confidence among the people when it comes to national security and defence. Rahul’s current posture shows that he has completely lost “the connect” with the people. The Congress party is also in the dock as it is facing the charge that it been continuously parroting the same stand that’s been taken by Imran Khan and Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir and Article 370. Addressing an election rally at Jalgaon in Maharashtra on Sunday Narendra Modi challenged the Opposition saying that the opposition should state in its election manifesto that they would restore Article 370 if they returned to power. He also said that Kashmir is the crown of India and not “just a piece of land”. Patting his government for the abrogation of Article 370 in the larger interest of the people, the PM has drawn attention to the situation in Kashmir that had been allowed to deteriorate over the last many decades and said that normalcy will be restored in J&K in four months. Besides, what’s going to prove the waterloo for Congress ally - the Nationalist Congress Party in this election is the case of former Civil Aviation Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel. His name has suddenly shot up in the news as the Enforcement Directorate has started probing an alleged land deal between a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim and a company promoted by Patel and his family. His contradiction notwithstanding, the damage has already been done. For popular support, BJP is banking heavily on its last word vis-a-vis J&K and Article 370 in the present round of elections. Its election campaign also has been capped with the positives of the Modi government’s welfare policies. With the Congress-NCP campaign in doldrums, the outcome of the Maharastra Assembly election would be on predictable lines. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Maharashtra Assembly election: Rahul Gandhi has made it more difficult for Congress

Shiv Sena released its manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly elections here on Saturday with plethora of promises to woo voters including establishing a chain of 1000 'Bhojnalaya'&nbsp;(eateries) across the state that would serve quality and nutritious food at meagre cost of Rs 10.

The other major poll promises of the BJP ally are reduction in domestic electricity rates by 30 percent for up to 300 unit consumption, special bus services in villages, Rs 10,000 per year as financial aid to the needy farmers, farm loan waiver, fixing price of fertilisers, making individual farmers beneficiaries of crop insurance scheme.

"One thousand 'Bhojnalaya'&nbsp;would be set up across Maharashtra. They will provide a nutritious meal at Rs 10. These centralised kitchens in every district will be managed and operated by women," said Aditya Thackeray, while addressing a press conference with party chief Uddhav Thackeray on the occasion of manifesto release.

"For the village students who face immense trouble in reaching schools and colleges, special bus services would be started in villages," said Thackeray.

"We will also give Rs 10,000 per year to the needy farmers and ensure that individuals are covered under the crop insurance scheme contrary to the present system where a farmer gets benefit only when the crop of the whole village is damaged," he said.

"We will also ensure that prices of fertilisers remain constant for the 5 years," said Thackeray.

While the BJP is yet to come up with its manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Congress-NCP alliance on October 7 released their manifesto promising reduced penalty under Motor Vehicles Act (MVA), immediate farm loan waiver, and zero-interest loan for higher education among others.BJP is contesting Maharashtra Assembly polls in alliance with Shiv Sena and RPI while Congress is in alliance with Sharad Pawar led NCP.

Maharashtra will go to polls on October 21 and the counting of votes will take place on October 24.

Shiv Sena released its manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly elections here on Saturday with plethora of promises to woo voters including establishing a chain of 1000 'Bhojnalaya' (eateries) across the state that would serve quality and nutritious food at meagre cost of Rs 10.

Shiv Sena released its manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly elections here on Saturday with plethora of promises to woo voters including establishing a chain of 1000 'Bhojnalaya' (eateries) across the state that would serve quality and nutritious food at meagre cost of Rs 10. The other major poll promises of the BJP ally are reduction in domestic electricity rates by 30 percent for up to 300 unit consumption, special bus services in villages, Rs 10,000 per year as financial aid to the needy farmers, farm loan waiver, fixing price of fertilisers, making individual farmers beneficiaries of crop insurance scheme. "One thousand 'Bhojnalaya' would be set up across Maharashtra. They will provide a nutritious meal at Rs 10. These centralised kitchens in every district will be managed and operated by women," said Aditya Thackeray, while addressing a press conference with party chief Uddhav Thackeray on the occasion of manifesto release. "For the village students who face immense trouble in reaching schools and colleges, special bus services would be started in villages," said Thackeray. "We will also give Rs 10,000 per year to the needy farmers and ensure that individuals are covered under the crop insurance scheme contrary to the present system where a farmer gets benefit only when the crop of the whole village is damaged," he said. "We will also ensure that prices of fertilisers remain constant for the 5 years," said Thackeray. While the BJP is yet to come up with its manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Congress-NCP alliance on October 7 released their manifesto promising reduced penalty under Motor Vehicles Act (MVA), immediate farm loan waiver, and zero-interest loan for higher education among others.BJP is contesting Maharashtra Assembly polls in alliance with Shiv Sena and RPI while Congress is in alliance with Sharad Pawar led NCP. Maharashtra will go to polls on October 21 and the counting of votes will take place on October 24.

Maharashtra Assembly polls: Shiv Sena releases poll manifesto, promises reduction in power tariff, subsidised food canteens

After the announcement of Assembly election polls in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday urged people to participate in huge numbers in the voting process for the upcoming elections.

"The election commission has announced the dates of the biggest festival celebrated in Maharashtra. I am very happy. I appeal everyone to participate in this festival and appear in large numbers for voting. The right to criticise the government`s policy is with those who vote in the elections," he said.

He also encouraged the people to avoid the use of single-use plastics in the state.

"I appeal to everyone not to use plastic. We have already banned the use of single-use plastics and I believe that all the political parties will adhere to this decision," he added.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission announced the single-phase voting dates for Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections on October 21, while the counting of votes will be held on October 24.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

After the announcement of Assembly election polls in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday urged people to participate in huge numbers in the voting process for the upcoming elections.

After the announcement of Assembly election polls in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday urged people to participate in huge numbers in the voting process for the upcoming elections. "The election commission has announced the dates of the biggest festival celebrated in Maharashtra. I am very happy. I appeal everyone to participate in this festival and appear in large numbers for voting. The right to criticise the government`s policy is with those who vote in the elections," he said. He also encouraged the people to avoid the use of single-use plastics in the state. "I appeal to everyone not to use plastic. We have already banned the use of single-use plastics and I believe that all the political parties will adhere to this decision," he added. Earlier in the day, the Election Commission announced the single-phase voting dates for Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections on October 21, while the counting of votes will be held on October 24.

Fadnavis urges people to vote in upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra