Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday addressed key questions concerning the state of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) in Maharashtra. In an exclusive interview with ABP News, he revealed his stance on opposition leaders and the recent developments within the party.
Expressing confidence in the strength of his party and the Mahayuti alliance, Shinde made a big claim in a conversation with ABP News. He said, "The previous government used to work only on Facebook whereas we have worked on the ground. We aim to secure approximately 45 Lok Sabha seats in the state. There is a positive reception among the people and support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and administration".
The Maharashtra CM highlighted the achievements of the government over the past two years.
Slamming the Congress party, Shinde criticised Rahul Gandhi for "tarnishing the country's image". Shinde said, "We have an agenda, they don't even have a flag? Modiji is the name of the country but Rahul Gandhi is on the other side going abroad and defaming him".
He further commended Modi's efforts on the global stage.
Commenting on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, Shinde told ABP News that "lack of relief from the courts indicates guilt".
Further refrained from engaging with the opposition's agenda, he said, "The focus of the party is on providing opportunities to their Members of Parliament". Shinde denied any pressure from the BJP.
Explaining the decision behind rejecting certain tickets, Shinde said, "leaving the reasons to be disclosed post-election victory".
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut commented on the seat-sharing arrangement of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). He said that if the members of the Congress party are unhappy or dissatisfied with the sharing of the seats then the top leadership of the grand old party has to explain the situation to their workers and communicate with them. He said that all forty-eight seats in Maharashtra belong to MVA.
(With inputs from Vaibhav Parab)