Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde launches campaign to raise awareness on 10 govt schemes

Mumbai: Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has launched a campaign to create awareness on 10 schemes of his Mahayuti government catering to the youth, women, farmers and elderly people.

Under the 'Ladki Bahin Kutumb Bhet Abhiyaan' launched on Monday, Shinde's party Shiv Sena aims to reach out to more than one crore families in the state.

The move comes amid cracks in the ruling alliance over the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', with a Shiv Sena minister raising objection against ally NCP and its president Ajit Pawar for “omitting” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s name from advertisements and promotional material of the government's flagship scheme.

The state assembly polls are likely to be held in November.

The CM, who launched the campaign on Monday, said his party workers will try to increase the awareness of 10 government schemes like the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana, which provides Rs 1,500 every month to eligible women in the state, the Mukhyamantri Yuva Prashikshan Yojana, Mukhyamantri Vayoshree Yojana, Mukhyamantri Tirtha Darshan Yojana and Mukhyamantri Electricity Pump Bill Waiver scheme, among others.

The campaign's aim is to assess whether families are getting benefit of the government schemes, and if not, then what issues are they facing in availing them, he said.

The scheme of empowering women will help the state's economy, Shinde said.

The progress on the campaign by the party workers will be monitored through a geo-tracking application, he said.

Last week, state Excise Minister Shambhuraj Desai, who belongs to the Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde, expressed disappointment over Deputy CM Ajit Pawar virtually "hijacking" the 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin' scheme.

He said not using the full name of the scheme during his (Pawar's) public outreach programmes was not as per the protocol.

"The scheme has 'Chief Minister' in its name, and removing it from the scheme is inappropriate. It should not have been done," Desai said.

"It is a state government scheme and he (Pawar) should have taken everyone along," the excise minister said.