PM Modi to address 9 campaign rallies in Maharashtra over 4 days

For the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a total of 9 rallies in 4 days starting from his public meeting in Jalgaon on Sunday, October 13 at 11 am. At 2.30 pm, he will address a rally at Sakoli town in Bhandara district. On October 16, Akola, Panvel, and Partur will witness the PM’s address. This will be followed by his campaign meeting in Pune, Satara, and Parli on the next day. PM Modi will wind up his Maharashtra campaign with a grand public meeting in Mumbai on October 18.  

Arrangements for the PM’s arrival

All preparations for the PM’s rally have been completed with the setting up of a pavilion and a platform in an open courtyard in front of the Jalgaon Airport. According to sources, the venue was taken over by the National Security Guard (NSG). Furthermore, a strong police force has been deployed for the meeting. Apart from him, Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah will address 5 rallies in Maharashtra on Sunday.

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Maharashtra CM to brief PM on PMC bank scam 

The aggrieved customers of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) bank who have been protesting over 20 days, can expect to get see a fresh development on Sunday when the PM lands in Maharashtra. This is because Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has promised them to convey their distress to PM Modi. A group of protesters met Fadnavis in Thane on Friday, where he had come to campaign for the BJP candidate Sanjay Kelkar. However, he stated that he could not give them any assurance due to the Model Code of Conduct. But he mentioned that he had prepared a brief on the issue and promised to follow up in the post-election phase. 

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He said, "After the elections on October 21, we will follow up on this issue and ensure that the bank is bailed out at any cost. It will not meet the same fate as the other co-operative banks.” 

According to the prosecution, the PMC bank continued giving loans to the debt-ridden Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) from 2008 to 2019 despite the previous loans not being repaid. This caused a loss of nearly Rs. 4,355 crore. Several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) such as criminal breach of trust, cheating, and forgery have been invoked against the accused. The customers of the PMC bank have been severely affected in the process. While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the monthly withdrawal limit per customer to Rs.25,000 per month after public pressure, it has failed to pacify the people. 

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The Assembly election  

In September, the Election Commission of India announced the state Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra, along with bypolls in several other states. The total strength of the Maharashtra Assembly is 288, out of which 9 seats are reserved for SC and 5 for the ST category. In total, Maharashtra has 8.94 crore registered voters, out of which 1.16 lakh are service voters. 1.8 lakh ballot units, 1.28 lakh control units, and 1.39 lakh VVPATs will be used in the state. The two main competitors are the Congress- Nationalist Congress Party and the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. The BJP will contest 150 seats as against that of Shiv Sena who will field candidates in 124 constituencies. While the voting will take place on October 21, the results will be declared on October 24. 

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