To keep the political pot boiling through repeated public outreach campaigns, the Shiv Sena will launch the ‘Maha Prabodhan Yatra’ on October 9. This campaign, which coincides with the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government completing 100 days in office, will focus on the latter’s “failures” as also those of the Narendra Modi-led Union government.
This yatra, which is aimed at farmers, youth and women, will begin from chief minister Eknath Shinde’s stronghold of Thane and will be led by the Sena’s deputy leader Sushma Andhare, who has a base among Ambedkarites. Lok Sabha MPs Arvind Sawant and Vinayak Raut, deputy leader Nitin Banugade Patil and local leaders of the party will also join the statewide yatra en route. From Thane, the campaign will cover areas like Mira Bhayender and Navi Mumbai. The plan is to cover the entire state in around two months.
Although the Shiv Sena is planning to launch the campaign from Thane’s Tembhi Naka, a locality closely identified with late party strongman Anand Dighe who was Shinde’s mentor, it could be shifted to an indoor venue if there is rain.
“The Shinde-Fadnavis government has completed 100 days in office. It is an utter failure and has done nothing apart from imposing a stay on the decisions of the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. At the same time, agrarian distress is on the rise and the prices of CNG, diesel, petrol and essentials are soaring, making life tough for the common man,” said Raut, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.
Andhare said the Sena’s outreach campaign also aimed to understand the problems faced by the common man. “When a political party launches an outreach campaign, the purpose normally is for its leaders to send across a message to the people. But in this yatra, we will try and understand what the common voter feels about the events that have taken place in the state over the last few months. These events do affect voters, as they also consider a party and its symbol before voting for a candidate,” said Andhare.
The deputy leader also launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government. “In a welfare state, the government and bureaucracy are expected to tackle the problems of citizens. When the regime of the day fails to achieve this, it highlights non-issues and tries to divide people into compartments of caste and religion,” she said.
Incidentally, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was scheduled to launch his statewide tour after the Navratri festival, but party sources said it could be postponed to the end of the year or the new year. This might help it coincide with the local body elections, which are seen as a litmus test for the Shiv Sena as well as the ruling BJP-Eknath Shinde alliance. However, Shiv Sena leader and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray has already embarked on a statewide tour in phases and Yuva Sena leaders too have also launched an outreach campaign.