Maharashtra polls: Opposition promises Rs 3,000 and free bus rides for women

Mumbai: Ahead of Maharashtra’s Assembly elections, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Wednesday announced its manifesto, pledging Rs 3,000 per month in financial aid and free transportation on government buses for women under the Mahalakshmi scheme, if voted to power. The Maha Vikas Aghadi includes the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Sharad Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Congress.

The manifesto was released at a rally in Mumbai, attended by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The elections for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will be held on November 20, with vote counting set for November 23.

The Mahalakshmi scheme announcement comes in response to the ruling Mahayuti alliance’s pledge to increase the payments under the Ladki Bahin scheme to Rs 2,100. The current scheme provides Rs 1,500 per month to women aged 21 to 65 with an annual family income under Rs 2.5 lakh.

In addition, the Maha Vikas Aghadi promised to waive farm loans up to Rs 3 lakh and offer Rs 50,000 as an incentive to farmers who consistently repay their loans. Unemployed youth will receive monthly support of Rs 4,000, and every household will be entitled to affordable health insurance coverage worth Rs 25 lakh. The alliance also vowed to provide essential medicines free of charge in government hospitals.

During the manifesto launch, Rahul Gandhi emphasized the importance of ideology in the election and reiterated his commitment to conducting a caste census, similar to the Congress governments in Telangana and Karnataka. He also promised to abolish the 50% cap on caste-based reservations imposed by the Supreme Court in 1992.

Furthermore, Thackeray announced that if the alliance wins, they would cancel the tender given to the Adani Group for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, which aims to rehouse 6.5 lakh residents of one of the world’s largest slums. The project, a joint venture between the Maharashtra government and Adani Group, has faced controversy with recent land allotments, including 124 acres of Deonar dumping ground, 140 acres of land in Madh, 255 acres of ecologically fragile salt pan land, and 21 acres of Kurla dairyland.