Nine months after the Maha Vikas Aghadi was toppled, the leaders of the grand anti-BJP coalition held its first mega joint rally on Sunday telling people the importance of the hand, watch and the flaming torch to be together in order to compete with the saffron party at the Centre and Maharashtra.
This was an indication to the fact that the Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena group now known as Shiv Sena (UBT) would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls together.
The three parties are buoyed by the results of the recently-concluded bye-elections of Kasba Peth in Pune where the MVA defeated the BJP candidate from the seat held by the saffron party for nearly three decades.
Thackeray, a former Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar of NCP and Congressmen - former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and party’s legislative wing leader Balasaheb Thorat - were among those who addressed the grand ‘vajramuth’ (iron fist) rally at the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar earlier known as Aurangabad.
State Congress President Nana Patole could not be present because of health issues.
“In (October-November) 2019 we came together but our (MVA) government was toppled (in June 2022). But now we have come even closer and emerged stronger,” Thackeray said.
Thackeray, the head of MVA, asked the workers of the three parties to get to work.
“We have to be together….the ‘panja’, ‘ghadi’ and ‘mashaal’ can be held in one hand,” said Pawar, a former Deputy Chief Minister.
“We have to be together to take on the BJP,” said Chavan, adding that we are as strong as the Devgiri fort and can sustain earthquakes.
Thorat said that if the three parties are together they can get more than 180 seats in the next Assembly elections.