The Maharashtra Congress held a significant strategy meeting on Sunday to prepare for the upcoming state assembly elections. The meeting, attended by key figures including Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, state Congress President Nana Patole, and senior leaders Prithviraj Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Naseem Khan, and Nitin Raut, focused on outlining the party's approach for the electoral battle.
In a related development, former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who leads the Shiv Sena (UBT), took a strong stance against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Speaking at a party workers' meeting in Pune on Saturday, Thackeray launched a sharp critique of Fadnavis and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Thackeray described the upcoming election as a decisive contest in Mumbai, declaring, "Either I stay or you stay." He further criticised Fadnavis by comparing him to a watermelon and dismissed the BJP as a "group of robbers."
The Maharashtra assembly election is anticipated to be held later this year, with the current government’s term ending in 2024. The exact dates for the election have not yet been announced by the Election Commission.
In recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s seat count in Maharashtra fell to nine, a decrease from 23 in 2019. The Congress saw a slight improvement, securing 13 seats.
The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won seven and one seat, respectively, contributing to a total of 17 seats for the NDA. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) won nine seats, while the NCP – Sharadchandra Pawar secured eight seats.
As the political landscape in Maharashtra evolves, both the Congress and Shiv Sena are gearing up for a competitive assembly election, with strategic moves and public statements shaping the pre-election discourse.