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Maharashtra polls: Mahayuti reveals manifesto, offers aid to women, farmers, youth
BJP's Maharashtra manifesto promises anti-conversion law, cash aid, job creation, and farm support, ahead of assembly elections on November 20
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly elections, promising a state anti-conversion law, farm loan waivers, an increase in cash handouts for women to ₹2,100, and a monthly ₹10,000 stipend for a million young people, while also clarifying that the Mahayuti alliance it leads was yet to decide on a chief ministerial candidate.
Union home minister Amit Shah released the 25-point vision document during an event in Mumbai, accompanied by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union minister Piyush Goyal and state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule.Among the promises were also 2.5 million new jobs and a programme to supply kitchen essentials spices and oil to low-income families.
“The BJP’s resolutions are etched in stone. Whether it is the Centre or the state, when our government is formed, we fulfil our resolutions,” said Shah.
During the event, Shah also tore into the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), accusing it of trying to slash reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes and “giving them to Muslims”.
It said a “skill census will be conducted in Maharashtra to analyse the skill gaps based on industry needs.”
“This will enable the provision of skilled manpower and facilitate the planning for the availability of a new skilled workforce as required,” said the document.
The party’s Sankalp Patra also promised an anti-conversion law, which it has either promised or implemented in several states that it is in power.
“A strict law will be enacted against forced and fraudulent conversions, ensuring protection from coercive and deceptive religious conversions,” it said.
The manifesto also promised to hike benefits for farmers under the state’s Kisan Samman Yojana from ₹12,000 to ₹15,000, as well as a “price support scheme in alignment with the MSP to cover price variations of up to 20%.”
It also proposed to introduce the Akshay Anna Yojana – a programme that will give low-income group families a range of kitchen rations, including rice, jowar, groundnut oil, salt, sugar, turmeric, mustard, cumin, and red chilli powder every month.
It promised to make Maharashtra drought-free over the next five years. Water flowing in the western rivers will be redirected to the drought-prone areas of Marathwada and North Maharashtra via the Godavari basin, it said.
“Through this manifesto, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visions are being brought to Maharashtra,” Fadnavis said during the launch.
Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held in a single phase on November 20. The results will be declared on November 23.
“The Mahayuti government has talked about and done work for respect for farmers, helping the poor, and on upholding the self-respect of women. The ‘Sankalp Patra’ released here today is a reflection of the aspirations of the people of Maharashtra,” Shah said.
Hitting out at the MVA, Shah said, “On the other side there is Aghadi. Even the Congress leaders have to say that they should make promises after thinking a lot, because they promise and then answer later.”
“There is Himachal, Telangana, Karnataka – in all of these states they have not fulfilled their promises there,” he said.
Shah was referring to a recent controversy over the Karnataka government’s Shakti scheme — one of five guarantee programmes rolled out by the Congress after it came to power in 2023.
He, however, underscored that the Mahayuti alliance, which also comprises the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena, was yet to decide on a candidate for chief minister if it were to retain power in the state.
“After the poll, our three parties will sit together and decide the next chief minister,” he said.
He also accused the Congress of appeasing Muslims and being against SCs, STs and OBCs.
“Recently I saw reports and documents which said that a delegation of Muslim clerics had submitted a letter listing several demands of the community,” he said.
“One of the demands was to approve reservations for Muslims. State Congress leader Nana Patole has agreed to these demands. There is no provision for reservation based on religion in the Constitution. The Congress intends to cut the reservation of SCs, STs and OBCs and give it to Muslims. Is this acceptable to the people of Maharashtra?” he said.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Patole rejected Shah’s allegation.
“We (MVA) are fighting the election on core issues and will not be drawn into the Hindu-Muslim fake narrative,” Patole said.
He also attacked Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. “Thackeray is sitting with the people who insult Veer Savarkar, opposed the cancellation of Article 370, the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya and the amendment in the Waqf Board law,” he said.
Shah insisted that the NCP and the Shiv Sena had split due to the internal succession battles.
“If Sharad Pawar had selected Ajit Pawar as his successor instead of Supriya Sule, the NCP would not have split. Similarly, if Uddhav Thackeray had not selected Aditya Thackeray over Eknath Shinde, the Shiv Sena would not have split,” he said.
Fadnavis announced that the government would, within 100 days of its formation, present a “Vision Maharashtra 2029”.
Reacting to Shah’s allegations, Sule pointed out that it was not she but Ajit Pawar who had held all the positions of power in the undivided NCP, including the post of deputy CM.
“I was only an MP,” she said.
