Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 15 : All India Congress Commitee's Mahrashtra in-charge, Ramesh Chennithala, on Friday questioned the turnout at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent rally, claiming that public support was stronger for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
"There were fewer people in PM Modi's rally, but a large number of people attended Rahul Gandhi's rallies in Nanded and Nandurbar," Chennithala said. He added that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP-SCP, is united. He added,"Our Maha Vikas Aghadi is capable, we will move forward together, no one controls anyone. There is a big fight in the Mahayuti. No one accepted the issue of 'batenge toh katenge' in Maharashtra."
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut added to the debate with claims that there will be no Mahayuti government after November 23, the vote-counting date. "The people of Maharashtra do not trust the Prime Minister's statement. This is Maha Vikas Aghadi. We three are together. We are one and we are safer in Maharashtra than you," he said.
Raut also questioned the ruling coalition's stability and the future of Eknath Shinde's position as Chief Minister. He said, "After November 23, there will be no Mahayuti because there will be no CM. They will not make Eknath Shinde the CM or LoP. They will not get the majority. We are forming the government."
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted Congress, accusing the party of exploiting the poor under the pretence of poverty alleviation. Speaking at a rally in Panvel, he said, "Congress always worked on the agenda of keeping the poor, poor. Generation by generation, they have given the false slogan of 'gareebi hatao.' Congress looted the poor in the name of poverty elimination."
Amidst the intensified campaigning, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted the BJP's aggressive approach. "I have 53 years of experience (in politics), and I have contested 13 elections and won all of them except one in 2019. Following this, I became a member of the Rajya Sabha and became the Leader of Opposition there. Given the assembly elections of Maharashtra, big leaders of the BJP including the PM, Union Home Minister, and CMs of BJP-ruled states are campaigning in Maharashtra. I have never seen the Prime Minister or Union Home Minister campaigning in every segment in the state assembly elections."
As the November 20 election day approaches, the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra have become the centre of a high-stakes political contest, with both the ruling Mahayuti and opposition MVA alliances making last-minute appeals to voters. The results on November 23 will reveal if the MVA's unity or the Mahayuti's efforts will sway Maharashtra's electorate.