Third front to field 121 candidates

Maharashtra's Parivartan Mahashakti alliance will field 121 candidates in assembly polls, focusing on farmer issues, but won't pursue Vidarbha statehood.

NAGPUR: Parivartan Mahashakti, an alliance of nine small political parties in Maharashtra – also called the third front, will field 121 candidates in the upcoming assembly polls, top leaders of the alliance said at a press conference on Monday. The alliance will release its election manifesto tomorrow.

Third front to field 121 candidates

Addressing the press conference, Swarajya Party chief Shambhaji Raje Bhonsale, Prahar Party chief Bachchu Kadu and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader Raju Shetti accused previous governments of failing to prioritise the interests of people, particularly farmers, and claimed they would determine who governs the state after the polls.

Kadu, a three-term MLA from Achalpur in Amravati district, said, “We are committed to helping form a government that genuinely serves the public.”

Wamanrao Chatap, a former MLA from Rajura in Chandrapur district, highlighted the alliance’s focus on addressing farmer suicides in the Vidarbha region. “If we come to power, we will bring 1.4 million hectares of agricultural land under irrigation in the Vidarbha region alone,” he said.

Bhonsale said discussions are on with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and he will meet the latter soon to seek support for Mahashakti candidates in the fray.

Though leaders like Kadu and Chatap are vocal advocates for a separate Vidarbha state, statehood is not on the agenda of the alliance for this election, Shetti and Bhonsale clarified on Monday. “All members support the idea of smaller, better-governed states. But we will not pursue the Vidarbha statehood demand at this time,” Shetti said.