Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, launched the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Sankalp Patra for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections on November 10.
After releasing the manifesto in Mumbai, Amit Shah stated that BJP’s Sankalp Patra for the November 20 Maharashtra polls embodies the aspirations and hopes of the state’s people. Targeting the opposition, he criticised the Maha Vikas Aghadi for making promises that, he said, undermine ideology and promote appeasement. The BJP’s Maharashtra manifesto also focuses on hiking assistance under the Ladki Bahin Scheme, increasing it from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100.
महाराष्ट्र में महायुति, मोदी जी के नेतृत्व में एकजुट होकर समृद्ध, सुरक्षित और मजबूत महाराष्ट्र का निर्माण कर रही है। आज जारी हुआ भाजपा महाराष्ट्र का संकल्प पत्र इस यात्रा को और भी गति देकर महाराष्ट्र को देश में नंबर 1 बनाने का माध्यम बनेगा।
चाहे 'लाडकी बहीण योजना' की राशि ₹2100… pic.twitter.com/E2cCXP56eJ
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 10, 2024
Key highlights of BJP’s manifesto for Maharashtra elections are
Employment Opportunities: A target of creating one crore jobs over the next five years is planned to boost employment across the state.
Empowering Women: The plan includes connecting one crore families to women’s self-help groups, providing them with unique employment opportunities.
Education Reforms: Education will be modernised and value-based, with a focus on imparting national and constitutional values.
Drought-Free Maharashtra: Over the next five years, Maharashtra aims to become drought-free by redirecting water from the 167 TMC flowing in the western rivers to the drought-prone regions of Marathwada and North Maharashtra, using the Godavari basin.
Redirecting Excess Monsoon Water: Excess water from rivers like Krishna, Koyna, and others during the monsoon season will be redirected to the water-scarce regions of Western Maharashtra.
Wainganga River Utilisation: The water from the Wainganga River will be harnessed to address drought conditions in Western Vidarbha.
Solar Energy for Agriculture: Over the next five years, solar energy will be harnessed to meet the power needs of agriculture, providing farmers with 12 hours of daytime electricity. A ‘solar power grid’ will be set up to integrate solar energy with irrigation facilities.
Affordable Housing & Clean Water: Every homeless individual will be provided with a house, and every household will have access to clean drinking water.
Marathwada Water Grid Project: The ambitious Marathwada Water Grid project will connect 11 dams and use sealed pipelines to ensure a steady water supply across the entire Marathwada region.
Infrastructure Investment: A significant investment of five lakh crore rupees will be made in infrastructure development, with support from the central government.
Road Maintenance and Development: A dedicated system will be established for the continuous maintenance and repair of all roads in the state. Under the Chief Minister’s Rural Road Scheme, every village will be connected by all-weather roads. In the second phase, 30,000 kilometres of rural roads will be constructed, and ‘pandan roads’ will be reinforced to improve farmers’ access to their fields.
Digital Connectivity: Maharashtra will be fully connected to the internet through BharatNet and MahaNet.
Accessible Healthcare: Healthcare services will be made accessible to all, expanding the reach of the Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat scheme and the Mahatma Phule Janarogya Yojana, ensuring no one is denied medical care due to financial constraints.
Social Security for Workers: All workers will be registered and included under the social security system.
Rehabilitation for Ex-Servicemen and Martyrs’ Families: A special program will be implemented to rehabilitate ex-servicemen, families of martyrs, and police personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Project-Affected People Rehabilitation: A fast-track campaign will be launched to expedite the rehabilitation process for all project-affected people in the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis described the BJP’s manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly elections as a “roadmap for building a Viksit Maharashtra for a Viksit Bharat.” Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, questioning the sincerity of Congress’s manifesto promises.
As the election date approaches, political campaigning in Maharashtra is intensifying. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is focused on regaining power in the state. They face off against the Mahayuti alliance, consisting of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
One of the most closely watched contests will be in Baramati, where NCP leader Ajit Pawar is set to face his nephew, Yugendra Pawar. Yugendra is the son of Ajit Pawar’s younger brother, Shrinivas Pawar.
Baramati was also a high-profile constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where Sunetra Pawar contested against Supriya Sule. The latter emerged victorious, winning by a margin of 1.5 lakh votes.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with the vote counting for all 288 constituencies set to take place on November 23. In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP secured 105 seats, Shiv Sena won 56, and Congress bagged 44. In contrast, the 2014 elections saw the BJP winning 122 seats, Shiv Sena claiming 63, and Congress securing 42.
