Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Those helping BJP are state's enemies, says

Shiv Sena UBT President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday hit the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 campaign trail and pitched the November 20 polls as a battle between those who love the state and the ones who betray it reported news agency PTIHitting out at his former ally Bharatiya Janata Party BJP and its partners Thackeray said those helping the national party are enemies of Maharashtra He also made a slew of promises to voters including building a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in every district if the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA comes to power after the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024According to PTI Thackeray was addressing his first rally of the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 in Radhanagri Kolhapur district Prakash Abitkar one of the 40 Shiv Sena legislators who rebelled against his leadership in 2022 and led to the partys split is the current legislator from RadhanagriThackeray he said those who love the state are aligned with the opposition MVA which comprises the Shiv Sena UBT Congress and Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra PawarThose helping the BJP a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti bloc are enemies of the state Thackeray remarked and accused his former ally of selling Maharashtra to Gujarat where it is in powerAccording to PTI Thackeray stated that his government was toppled in June 2022 because he did not allow the BJP to harm Maharashtra He also claimed that not a single industrial project moved out of the state when the MVA was in power under his chief ministershipBJP trying to divide people on religion caste for power Uddhav ThackerayMaharashtra assembly poll is a fight between those who love the state and the ones who betray it Thackeray told the gatheringThe Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray President started his speech with the sentence Jamlelya Majhya Tamam Maharashtra Premi Bandhavanu Matanu ani Baghinino My Maharashtraloving brothers mothers and sisters seeking to position the electoral battle as a fight between the ones who love the state and those who work against itIn his campaign speeches during the Lok Sabha polls in AprilMay Thackeray would start his address with the sentence My Maharashtra loving brothers mothers and sisters It was contrary to his regular Hindutvarooted My Hindu brothers mothers and sisters opening remarks at rallies perhaps reflecting his alignment with the Congress and the NCP SP which project themselves as secularReferring to petitions filed by his party in the Supreme Court seeking disqualifications of rebel Sena Members of Legislative Assembly MLA Thackeray emphasised that he has still not got justice from the top judiciary and hence has come to peoples court for justiceI am not fighting for myself but for you and Maharashtra the former CM insistedHe also accused the BJP of trying to divide people on the basis of religion and castes for the sake of powerAttacking the states Eknath Shindeled dispensation which assumed office after the fall of the MVA administration Thackeray alleged the government works on commissionTalking about the Mahayuti governments flagship scheme for poor women the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana Thackeray said the police were not even ready to register the complaint of the mother of the girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted at a school in Badlapur in Thane district in AugustHe further stated that while the government is implementing the Ladki Bahin Yojana under which underprivileged women are provided a monthly stipend of Rs 1500 the inflation is spiralling making essential commodities costly for common citizensThackeray promised that if the MVA comes to power after the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 every district in the state will have a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajThe former CM said if possible he will also build a temple dedicated to the 17th century Maratha warrior king in Surat in presentday Gujarat a city linked to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajs military campaignDuring the rally Thackeray assured that after the MVA comes to power the rates of essential food items such as rice pulses oil and sugar will be stabilisedCurrently education for female students is free in the state but the MVA government will extend this benefit to male pupils too Thackeray saidThe former chief minister further assured that allfemale police stations will be established in the state with an aim to provide a safe and accessible environment for women to file complaints and seek redressal of their grievancesHe reiterated that the multicrore Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai being executed by the Adani Group will be scrapped if the MVA comes to power and also assured the payment of minimum support price MSP to farmers for their crops under an MVA dispensationThe polling for the 288member assembly will take place on November 20 and votes will be counted three days later In all 4140 candidates are in the fray across the stateWith PTI inputs