Mumbai: Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) will launch a mass outreach programme from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's birthplace in Pune on August 9, a party leader said on Wednesday.
State Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Jayant Patil will lead the 'Shiv Swarajya Yatra', which will be launched from the Shivneri Fort in Pune's Junnar taluka. The yatra is a fight for Maharashtra's self-respect and to defeat the ruling Mahayuti, which is "helpless before Delhi," Patil claimed addressing a press conference here.
Notably, the rival NCP led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is also set to launch its Jan Samman Yatra from Nashik on Thursday.
Elections to the 288-member state assembly are due in October this year.
In the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, the NCP (SP) won 8 out of the 10 seats in contested in the state, which has 48 parliamentary constituencies.
The Sharad Pawar's party is an ally of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress in the state as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The first phase of the NCP (SP) yatra will cover Pune, Solapur and parts of Marathwada till August 18.
NCP (SP) leaders and its Lok Sabha members will join the yatra at different locations, Patil said.
He rejected criticism of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, who is on a three-day visit to Delhi from Tuesday.
"He is in Delhi to meet the I.N.D.I.A. alliance leaders and it is not called helplessness," Patil said.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam on Tuesday claimed Thackeray travelled to Delhi for his chief ministerial ambitions ignoring the rain-affected people of Maharashtra.
Shirur Lok Sabha member Amol Kolhe said the need of the hour is to rekindle the sentiment of self-respect, claiming betrayal and corruption are now prevalent in state politics.
Published 07 August 2024, 12:56 IST