WITH campaigning in full swing ahead of Maharashtra Assembly elections, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has exuded confidence in the victory of the Mahayuti alliance with over 175 seats in the 288- member State Legislature. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP candidate from Baramati Assembly constituency said,“Mahayuti will get more than 175 seats and in Baramati, I will win with a margin ofmore than onelakhvotes.” Maharashtra will go topollson November 20 with votes being counted on November 23. Pawar toured Baramati where he met villagers and addressed theirissues.Theseven-timeMLA from Baramati Assembly constituency is contesting against his nephew Yugendra Pawar,who is making his electoral debut in the Assembly polls.

 

The Mahayuti alliance comprises the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the Eknath Shinde-ledShiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP. It is up against Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which comprises of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Earlierin theday,Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit back at AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi over his remarks and said that they are descendants of “Razakars”, who tortured the people of Marathwada. Speaking to media persons during his electionrally in Nagpur on Monday, Fadnavissaid,“They aredescendantsof‘Razakars’.The‘Razakars’ tortured the people of Marathwada, looted their lands, tried to rape women, and destroyed families.Howcan they talk to us?” Notably, Razakar is anArabicwordwhichmeansvolunteers. It is considered derogatory in Bangladesh as itrefers to people who supported the Pakistan Army in 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

 

 

MAHARASHTRA Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday dismissed the claim of growing support for the Shiv Sena (UBT), claim- ing that the Muslim vote “swelling” in their favour would soon dissipate. Shinde, addressing a rally in Vaijapur for the party can- didateRameshBornare, emphasisedthatShivSena’sfocus on community service, rather than caste-based politics, was the reason for the party’s victory in the Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency. The Chief Minister alleged the ‘flaming torch’ poll symbol of the Uddhav Thackeray fac- tion was a medium to set houses on fire and create a rift among communi- ties.“They (Shiv Sena-UBT) call ‘mashal’ (flaming torch) a symbol of revolu- tion. But their torch sets homes ablaze and creates a rift among communi- ties. This swelling of Muslim votes will go away,” Shinde adde