Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday put an end to confusion over whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena will contest the Assembly polls together, and said the allies would announce a seat-sharing arrangement soon.
The party also unveiled its ambitious election campaign plan, with Mr. Fadnavis launching a month-long Maha Janadesh Yatra on August 1. “Let there be no confusion. This election will be fought as an alliance. We will declare the seat sharing at the earliest. Any of the 288 seats would come to us,” Mr. Fadnavis said, addressing the BJP’s State executive meeting in Goregaon.
Commenting on Sena leaders’ comments that Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray would be the next Chief Minister, Mr. Fadnavis said, “I have already said that I will be coming back as the Chief Minister. And I am not the CM of only the BJP, but of the Sena, RPI and the RSP as well.”
Earlier, the party unveiled its election campaign plan in the presence of BJP working president J.P. Nadda and newly appointed State chief Chandrakant Patil.
Mr. Fadnavis will start his tour of the State from Mozri village in Amaravati district of Vidarbha. The first phase will be from Mozri to Nandurbar, while the second will be from Akole to Nashik.
The Maha Janadesh Yatra will cover 152 Assembly segments and 4,500 km across all districts, except Mumbai. The BJP will hold around 300 rallies, and a ‘Vijay Sankalp’ rally in every district. A chariot with LED screens will showcase the government’s achievements through the tour.
Meanwhile, the party will hold Assemble segment-wise training for party workers from August 10 to 25. To target new voters, it will organise interaction programmes with new voters from August 15 to September 1. The party has also planned to celebrate Rakshabandhan and Ganeshotsav on large scale to spread its message to voters.
“Despite our yatra, the government will not fall short in relief work in areas affected by drought,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
Mr. Patil, meanwhile, told party workers that the BJP-Sena alliance has set a target of winning at least 220 of the 288 seats in Maharashtra.
“Let’s leave the alliance and seat-sharing talks to Mr. Fadnavis and Amit Shah. Let’s strengthen the BJP at the booth level. Even if our allies contest certain seats, our booth structure will ensure their victory,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Nadda said, “‘ Achhe din aayenge (good days will come)’ and ‘ Desh badal raha hai (the country is changing)’ were the BJP’s slogans in the 2014 campaign. We would like to remind the people that good days have arrived, and the country has already changed in the last five years.”
He highlighted the Narendra Modi government’s achievements in the health sector, poverty alleviation, infrastructure, agriculture and rural development.
Mr. Nadda said when the BJP says it aims for a ‘Congress- mukt Bharat (India free of Congress)’, it means it wants a country free of corruption. “‘BJP- yukt’ means development-oriented. It indicates a focus on service and development and work at the grass roots, and not work for self-promotion.”
