MVA to launch poll campaign on Nov 6, says Pawar

Pune, Oct 31: The opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi will start its campaign for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections on November 6, said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday.

Pawar said the campaign will be spearheaded by him and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Speaking to a few reporters on his home turf Baramati in the Pune district, Pawar extended them Diwali greetings and said he prayed for the prosperity and well-being of the people of the state.

Asked about the friendly fights among MVA partners NCP (SP), Congress and Sena (UBT) in some constituencies, Pawar said there are only 10-12 seats where two candidates from MVA have filed their nomination papers.

“I am confident we will find a solution in the next couple of days and resolve the issue,” he said.

The veteran leader said MVA will offer a “programme” (common minimum programme) to the people of the state to garner their support. Pawar said their poll campaign will be launched in the presence of himself, Rahul Gandhi, and Uddhav Thackeray.

Senior Congress leader Nana Patole said on Wednesday that the MVA would hold a joint rally on November 6 in Mumbai, where it will release the opposition grouping’s guarantees for the assembly elections.

In the MVA, the Congress is contesting 103 seats followed by the Sena (UBT), which has fielded 89 candidates, and 87 seats given to NCP (SP). While other MVA allies are in the fray in six seats, there was no clarity on three assembly segments.

The Maharashtra assembly polls to elect 288 members of the House will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.