Maharashtra Elections: With just a few days left for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, both the MVA and Mahayuti alliances have finalized their seat-sharing agreements, and now election promises are also being rolled out.
On Wednesday, the MVA announced its five key guarantees, which include monthly financial assistance for women, loan waivers for farmers, financial support for the unemployed, health insurance for families, and more.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising parties like Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), organized a Maharashtra Swabhiman Sabha.
Senior leaders from each alliance party attended, and Rahul Gandhi openly criticized the BJP and Shinde government from the stage. During this event, MVA leaders also unveiled their manifesto for the upcoming election.
Women will receive financial assistance of ₹3,000 per month and free transport across Maharashtra on government buses.
Farmers across Maharashtra will have their agricultural loans waived up to ₹3 lakh. Additionally, farmers who consistently repay their loans will receive a ₹50,000 incentive payment.
Every unemployed youth in Maharashtra will receive a monthly allowance of ₹4,000.
All families in Maharashtra will receive affordable health insurance coverage up to ₹25 lakh. Essential medicines will be provided free of charge at government hospitals.
A socio-economic caste census will be conducted across Maharashtra to protect marginalized communities and secure their rights. After the caste census, the 50% cap on reservation will be lifted.
After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP came together to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
In this Maharashtra election, the contest is set to be between alliances rather than individual parties, with the ruling Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi going head-to-head.
The Mahayuti consists of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
In this Assembly election, the opposition alliance (MVA) aims to replicate its performance from the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, where it gained an advantage over the Mahayuti.
Voting for Maharashtra's 288 Assembly seats is set for November 20, with results to be declared on November 23. In the last election, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena 56, NCP 54, and Congress 44.
However, after the election, the Shiv Sena broke away from the NDA and formed a government with the NCP and Congress. Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena became the Chief Minister.
In June 2022, an internal split occurred within Shiv Sena. Eknath Shinde led a faction of 40 MLAs to break away, and with BJP's support, he became Chief Minister.
Shiv Sena is now divided into two factions, and the NCP has also split into two groups—one led by Sharad Pawar and the other by Ajit Pawar.
