Exuding confidence that the Mahayuti alliance would win, Shrikant Shinde, son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, assured they would “reject fake narratives,” drawing parallels to how this was the way the Congress was defeated in Haryana.
Shiv Sena MP said the party’s poll strategy is to showcase its development work. “We are reaching out to people with our work. In the Lok Sabha elections, there were false stories that the Constitution was in danger. But such lies do not have a long life,” he said.
Shinde said that was also the case with Haryana:
“There, too, attempts were made to spread misinformation. However, in Maharashtra, our focus is firmly on development politics.”
Countering the narrative that MVA would repeat its Lok Sabha performance in the Assembly polls, Shinde said the Mahayuti work of the last two-and-half years spoke for itself.
“We are giving a straight narrative of development. Maharashtra tops the list for infrastructure, startups, and foreign direct investment. The figures will not lie,”
He said.
The Shiv Sena leader blamed the previous Congress-led government for delaying big infrastructural works, such as the coastal road and the slum development and housing. He was confident that what Mahayuti did would click with the people in the coming elections.
Shinde also spoke about the law and order situation, comparing Maharashtra with Punjab, which he termed a “criminal state.” He reminisced how Mumbai used to face bomb blasts and terrorist attacks every other day but said no such incident has taken place in the city for the last ten years.
He said,
“All three partners are united in ruling.” Shinde also considered political disagreements akin to those in families: “Such disputes should not be blown out of proportion.”.
When asked if Eknath Shinde would be dethroned from the Chief Minister’s seat, he replied,
“In the Mahayuti, nobody is at the threshold, waiting to become the Chief Minister.”
He gave the example of his journey from corporator to Chief Minister, saying no political leader openly craves the topmost post. Maharashtra will go to the polls in one phase on November 20, and the vote-counting is expected to be held on November 23.
