Maharashtra Legislative Council polls: MVA leaders meet in Mumbai, discuss strategy

Maha Vikas Aghadi allies. File Photo

Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders met on Friday to discuss the alliance's strategy for the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls for 11 seats slated for July 12, reported PTI.

The meeting took place in NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar's office at YB Chavan Centre in south Mumbai.

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The MVA comprises of the Congress, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

As per a PTI report, the meeting was attended by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Congress leaders Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat, state Congress president Nana Patole and NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil.

Others who took part in the meeting included Congress leader Naseem Khan, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut and Sharad Pawar-led NCP leaders Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope and Rohit Pawar, reported PTI.

MVA sources told PTI that the joint manifesto for the upcoming assembly polls was also discussed in the meeting at the YB Chavan Centre on Friday.

The Congress has fielded Pradnya Satav for the MLC polls, while the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is supporting Milind Narvekar.

The NCP (SP) is supporting the Peasant and Workers Party's Jayant Patil.

The leader of opposition in the Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, left the meeting early as he had to board a flight for Nagpur, according to the PTI.

Budget sops not poll gimmicks, in sync with allocations: Ajit Pawar

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday slammed the opposition for ridiculing the government over the initiatives announced in the recently presented budget, reported the PTI.

He said that the schemes announced in the Maharashtra budget for women, youth and farmers are not 'election gimmicks'

During the debate on the budget he presented in the legislative assembly last week, Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio, said this was his 10th budget and he was well aware that the schemes were in sync with budgetary allocations.

Maharashtra's economy is in a stable condition, said the finance minister. Even though debt has increased by 10.67 per cent compared to the previous year, it is 18.35 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) which is well within the prescribed limit of 25 per cent, he said.

Presenting the last budget of the Eknath Shinde government, before the state goes to polls later this year, Pawar had announced sops for women, youth and farmers and other segments of society that entailed an outlay of more than Rs 80,000 crore.

(with PTI inputs)