: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Wednesday announced a slew of sops, including ₹3,000 a month to poor women and ₹4,000 a month to unemployed young people, as part of its effort to outdo the ruling Mahayuti two weeks ahead of the high-stakes November 20 assembly elections in Maharashtra.
Mumbai, India - Nov. 6, 2024: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) unveiled Maharashtra poll guarantees during a “Swabhiman Sabha” at BKC in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. (Satish Bate/Hindustan Times)
At a joint rally in Mumbai, the MVA announced five guarantees – ₹3,000 per month to poor women and free travel for women in government buses under the Mahalaxmi Yojna, a farm loan waiver up to ₹3 lakh and additional financial assistance of ₹50,000 to the farmers repaying their loan on a regular basis (Krishi Samruddhi), a health insurance of ₹25 lakh to all and free medicines (Kutumb Rakshan), a caste-based census and removing the 50% ceiling on quota (Samantechi Hami), and a direct cash of ₹4,000 per month to all unemployed young people (Yuvkana Shabd).
All five guarantees were based on the poll manifesto declared by the Congress during its assembly campaigns in Karnataka and Telangana last year.
“Women are the biggest sufferer from inflation. Thus our first guarantee to disburse ₹3,000 per month in the back accounts of women,” Gandhi said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandraji Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray spoke at the rally.
They came just a day after the Mahayuti announced a bunch of sops, including increase financial aid under Ladki Bahin from existing ₹1,500 to ₹2,100 per month, farm loan waiver and an increase in the annual payment under the Shetkari sanman scheme from ₹12,000 to ₹15,000. Additionally, a 20% subsidy will be provided on minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural produce..
Following a tremendous response to the government’s existing Ladki Bahin Yojna, under which ₹1500 is given to poor women every month, the ruling alliance promised to increase the handout to ₹2,100 if voted to power. The MVA hoped to outdo this pledge by offering ₹3,000 per month to poor women under the Mahalaxmi Yojna. It also promised free travel to women and girls in state-run Maharashtra State Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses.
The second guarantee was to waive loans of farmers up to ₹3 lakh and also give an incentive of ₹50,000 for repaying farm loans regularly. The opposition coalition also promised to conduct a caste-based census in Maharashtra if voted to power. Besides, it also said it will try to get the 50% cap on caste based reservation removed.
While announcing the Mahalxmi Yojna, Gandhi urged the people to elect a government that would not allow projects to be shifted out of Maharashtra.
“Our government was snatched by buying MLAs; elect a government of Maharashtra, which will not allow projects to be shifted to Gujarat, and won’t allow Dharavi land to be given to Adani,” Gandhi said.
Reiterating his pledge to conduct a caste census, Gandhi said that the MVA will not allow the BJP to destroy the Constitution. “It is not just a book, but the voice of our ideals, and the common people and slowly Modi and RSS are trying to destroy it,” he alleged.
Pawar blamed the Mahayuti for insulting Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, referring to the collapse of his statue in Sindhudurg on August 26. “Maharashtra is going backward at every level. They did corruption even in erecting the statue of Shivaji Maharaj and blamed the wind after it fell down within months,” he said.
He was referring to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s 35-foot statue at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan which collapsed in August.
Thackeray declared that the MVA government will keep the prices of five essentials – cooking oil, sugar, wheat and rice – stable in order to give relief to the common people. He then took the Mahayuti to task over the Dharavi Redevelopment Project and declared his promise of scrapping the tender after coming to power. “Many land parcels from different parts of the city are being given to Adani Group in the name of Dharavi Redevelopment Project,” he said.
Thackeray has been opposing the allotment of land parcels to the Adani Group led Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited for rehabilitating the ineligible tenants of Dharavi.
He also opposed the state government’s plan to redevelop Koliwada (fishing villages) and Gaothan (erstwhile villages) in Mumbai under the cluster redevelopment project. “After Dharavi, they now want to develop Gaothans and Koliwadas under the cluster development. We will not allow them to take over a single gaothan and Koliwada,” he said.
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