Mumbai (Maharashtra) (Aryavarth): Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal has expressed confidence in the state-level coalition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), forming the government in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections and said his party will strive to remove the current “corrupt government” in the state.
Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly are scheduled to be held later this year, with the tenure of the current state assembly ending in 2024. However, the Election Commission of India has yet to announce the dates.
Addressing a joint press conference along with Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole and Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, among others, Venugopal said that the Congress party is “united and in one voice.”
“Today’s meeting was about the election preparation. A discussion was held to strengthen Congress. We are going to be united. We have one voice. Our aim is to remove this corrupt government from Maharashtra. This government is not a natural government,” Venugopal said while addressing the media in Mumbai today.
“We are going to form the government. We are fighting the election under the banner of MVA. Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar) will fight together under the banner of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Of course, every party has their own ideas, plans, and organisational structure, but in the election we will fight together,” he added.
He claimed that the “atmosphere in India” has totally changed, adding that the people of Maharashtra will support the MVA in the upcoming assembly polls.
“We are very committed to defeating this corrupt government in Maharashtra. That is going to happen in the coming days. After the parliamentary elections, there is a clear message in the country. We, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, will plan a good campaign and a good narrative, and Maharashtra will be with us,” the Congress leader said.
On seat sharing, Venugopal said, “We are in touch with the leaders of our alliance parties. We will formulate this very soon.”
The Congress Core Committee meeting held at Garware Club in Mumbai was attended by all major leaders of the party in the state, including Balasaheb Thorat, Vijay Wadettiwar, Leader of Opposition Prithviraj Chavan, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Mukul Wansik, and Avinash Pandey, among others.
A discussion on seat-sharing in the MVA for the assembly polls was held earlier on July 11.
According to sources from Congress, the party is likely to contest 120–130 assembly seats; the Shiv Sena (UBT) 90–100 seats; and the NCP-SP is likely to contest 75–80 seats in the coming elections.
In the recent parliament election, Congress emerged as the largest party in the state, with 13 Lok Sabha MPs. Maha Vikas Aghandi (MVA) won 30 seats out of the total number of 48 constituencies in Maharashtra.