Amit Shah likely to address BJP meeting in Pune next month

Amit Shah. Pic/PTI

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah is likely to address a BJP meeting in Pune on July 14 ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, the party's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said in Mumbai on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "Nearly 4,500 party functionaries will attend a meeting of the BJP in Pune. We have requested Amit Shah to address the meeting and he has agreed to come to Pune. The BJP meeting in Pune will be crucial ahead of Maharashtra assembly elections," reported PTI.

The assembly elections are likely to be held in October this year.

When asked about the Maharashtra legislative council polls scheduled next month, Bawankule said, "The names will be finalised either today or tomorrow. I am sure that our central parliamentary board will finalise some good names that will be beneficial for the state," reported PTI.

"The BJP would like to have the chairperson post of the state legislative council, but we will discuss it with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and other 11 parties that form the NDA," Bawankule said, reported PTI.

The voting, if necessary, will take place on July 12 for the 11 MLC seats.

The biennial elections to the 11 seats from the MLA quota will be a crucial test for the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ahead of the assembly elections to be held later this year.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday made light of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray's criticism of the budget by saying the latter had himself once admitted he does not understand it.

The budget for 2024-25 presented in the Assembly earlier in the day by deputy CM and finance minister Ajit Pawar brings happiness to all sections of society with various welfare schemes, Fadnavis asserted while speaking to reporters at the airport in Nagpur.

Thackeray had described the Maharashtra budget as a "torrent of assurances" and a "false narrative" pretending to offer something to every section of society.
"Uddhav Thackeray had earlier said, and that too on stage, that he does not understand the budget. When he has said something like this then there is no need to respond to his comment," Fadnavis asserted.

Answering a query, the deputy CM said cotton and soybean farmers, most of whom are from Vidarbha, will get relief from the budget announcements and financial aid will be deposited in their bank accounts directly.

(With inputs from PTI)