Ajit Pawar-led NCP announces ‘Jan Samman Yatra’ ahead of state polls

The Yatra will focus on engaging with the public and informing them about welfare programs and their application processes. Sourced photo

Ahead of the Maharashtra State Assembly polls, Ajit Pawar-led NCP announced the 'Jan Samman Yatra' to commence on July 28. The yatra, led by the party's state unit chief Sunil Tatkare, will visit every district in the state. The aim of this initiative is to connect with people and address their issues while showcasing the party's efforts to disseminate government schemes and strengthen its organizational structure, said an official release.

The yatra was announced at a joint press conference held in Mumbai on Saturday by MLA Shivajirao Garje and State Spokesperson Anand Paranjape.

"Tatkare will start the yatra from July 28 in Nashik district, where he will visit four constituencies: Deolali, Sinnar, Yeola, and Kopargaon constituency in Ahmednagar district. On July 29, he will visit Niphad and Dindori to inform people about the Mahayuti government's plans and to bolster the party's organization. He will also tour other parts of the state," Garje said, adding that he will also conduct similar tours in other regions of Maharashtra.

Paranjape emphasized that the Yatra will focus on engaging with the public and informing them about welfare programs and their application processes.

The yatra comes against the backdrop of controversies around the ‘CM Ladki Bahini Yojana' that the Mahayuti government had recently announced in their state budget. Under the scheme, women in the 21-65 years age group with a family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh will be given Rs 1,500 per month. While announcing the scheme in the budget, Pawar had said the scheme will entail an annual expenditure of Rs 46,000 crore.

Media reports emerged stating that Ajit Pawar's finance department had opposed the scheme for putting another financial burden on the state, which is already in debt and running multiple other schemes for women.

However, Pawar on Saturday said that the scheme was announced after the approval of the finance and planning as well as other concerned departments apart from the state cabinet. In a statement, Pawar, who holds the finance and planning portfolio in the Eknath Shinde government, said he introduced Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme in the supplementary budget of the state for the year 2024-25 after "approval of finance and planning, all concerned departments as well as the state cabinet."

"The entire amount of Rs 35,000 crore required for the scheme in the current financial year has been provided in this year's budget itself. So, the question about where the money for the scheme will come from does not arise. It is possible for a financially prosperous state like Maharashtra to spend such amount," Pawar said. The state government is ready to spend this amount for economic independence, self-reliance, nutrition and all-round empowerment of mothers-sisters-daughters, to increase honour and self-respect, the NCP leader said. He added that there is no reason for anyone in this state to oppose the scheme.