CM Eknath Shinde says there will be political earthquake in Maharashtra after 2024 Lok Sabha elections

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Friday claimed that there will be a political earthquake in the state after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"After the (2024) Lok Sabha elections, there will be a political earthquake in the state...We have to ensure that Modi returns to power for the third term with (the ruling alliance winning) over 400 seats, while in Maharashtra, the alliance wins more than 45 seats (out of the total 48)," he said.

Shinde said Maharashtra's ruling alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), will face the elections on the development agenda, newswire PTI reported.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was speaking at a public meeting in neighbouring Navi Mumbai after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 'Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu', the longest sea bridge in the country connecting south Mumbai with Nhava-Sheva in Navi Mumbai.

The chief minister said under the leadership of PM Modi, the country was progressing at a "bullet speed".

The Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held in April/May this year.

The chief minister's comments come two days after state assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that Eknath Shinde's faction was the "real Shiv Sena political party", and dismissed all the petitions that sought disqualification of the MLAs of both the factions - one each led by Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray.

Dubbing the opposition parties as being anti-development, Shinde said the development projects stalled in the state were revived after his government came to power in June 2022.

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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the Rs 17,840 crore Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, the longest bridge as well as the longest sea bridge in the country connecting south Mumbai with Nhava-Sheva in Navi Mumbai.

The six-lane trans-harbour bridge is 21.8 km long with a 16.5 km long sea-link.

The bridge will provide faster connectivity to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport and reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Pune. It will also improve connectivity between the Mumbai Port and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

The foundation stone of the bridge had been laid by prime minister Modi in December 2016.

The PM on Friday also laid the foundation stone of an underground road tunnel connecting the Eastern Freeway in eastern Mumbai to Marine Drive in south Mumbai.

The 9.2 km tunnel will be built at a cost of more than Rs 8700 crore. (With inputs from agencies)