Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was in Mumbai for the launch of MVA’s Maharashtra manifesto.

Mumbai:

The manifesto of the Maha Vikas Aghadi bloc of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) for the November 20 elections in Maharashtra aims to beat the Eknath Shinde government’s Ladki Bahin yojana for women and extend the hand to farmers and young people.

The manifesto, launched today, sets the agenda for the first 100 days if the opposition bloc comes to power. He promises assistance of Rs 3,000 per month to women under the Mahalaxmi Yojana. This is more than the Rs 1,500 assistance given to women under the Eknath Shinde government’s Ladki Bahin scheme, it is also more than the Rs 2,100 promised by the BJP in its election manifesto, also released today today.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi promised to provide women with free, six-cylinder bus travel at a fare of Rs 500 rupees, stricter laws to ensure women’s safety, free cervical cancer vaccine for girls aged 9 to 16 and two days of menstrual leave each month. .

To farmers, another key group as far as the elections are concerned, the Maha Vikas Aghadi assured the creation of a high-level committee to end farmer suicides and a better package for the families of farmers who died by suicide. The bloc promised to ensure farmers get the right price for their produce and said it would simply be a crop insurance scheme.

Unemployed youth, the bloc said, will receive a monthly pension of Rs 4,000 and state scholarship programs will be expanded.

The MVA manifesto also promised to expand the state’s health insurance policy. As part of social justice, he promised a caste census in Maharashtra.

While launching the document, state Congress chief Nana Patole said it was not a manifesto but a vachan nama. “The BJP and the alliance have betrayed the state for the last 10 years. They are talking about waiving loans to farmers, why didn’t they do that when they were in power?” he asked.

Addressing the event, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the world was looking at Mumbai and Maharashtra was leading the country in social change. “This is a very important election, not just for defectors, but one that will decide the future of the country. Only the MVA can promise a stable government,” he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and NCP(SP) Supriya Sule were also present at the manifesto launch.

The defectors’ coup was aimed at Shiv Sena rebels whose mutiny split the party into two and brought down the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in 2022. Later, the rebellion from Ajit Pawar’s camp also split the NCP by Sharad Pawar. In the 2019 elections, the BJP and Shiv Sena formed an alliance. Today, the Sena has split, just like the NCP. In some ways, this is also an election in which rival factions will attempt to prove that they are the “real” party.

Listing out the promises contained in the MVA manifesto, the Congress leader hit out at the BJP. “When we were implementing it in Karnataka, they called it revdi, but now they are promoting the same schemes.” On the caste census, he said it was not aimed at dividing people, but to access data on their social position so that efforts could be made to improve it.