Maha polls: Cong to persuade rebels to withdraw nominations

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday said the Maharashtra party leadership has been asked to ensure all rebels withdraw nominations and asserted there will be no friendly fights among the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies in the state assembly polls.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Chennithala also claimed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has 'stolen' seats of its Mahayuti allies, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has given equal treatment to the alliance partners.

Major political parties in Maharashtra are facing rebellion in their ranks as party workers denied tickets have defied their leaderships and filed nominations for the November 20 assembly polls, posing a headache for both the Mahayuti and the MVA.

November 4 is the last date for withdrawal of candidatures and after that a clear picture will emerge on the number of rebels still left in the fray.

The MVA comprises the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar of Sharad Pawar, while the Mahayuti consists of the BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

Chennithala, the All India Congress Committee in-charge of Maharashtra, said their party leader Naseem Khan has been asked to speak to the Samajwadi Party and they are hopeful the issue (of nominations by rebels) will be resolved by November 4.

"All rebels will withdraw. There will be no friendly fights in the MVA. Balasaheb Thorat, Vijay Wadettiwar and Nana Patole will talk to the rebels," he said.

"Forming government of the MVA is our goal," he said, asserting the opposition allies will fight the state assembly polls with discipline.

Dubbing the Mahayuti coalition as 'strange', Chennithala claimed the BJP has fielded candidates in seats allotted to allies NCP and Shiv Sena.

There is no Mahayuti, but only the BJP is fighting the elections, he added.

The BJP has stolen the seats of allies. There are lot of differences among the Mahayuti partners, Chennithala claimed.

The BJP has "finished" the NCP and Sena, the Congress leader charged.

"We have given equal treatment to all the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies," he said.

Chennithala also claimed that the state government's flagship Ladki Bahin scheme, for providing financial assistance to women, has been shut for want of funds.