Raosaheb Danve to head BJP's Management Committee for Maha Assembly polls

Mumbai: A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Mumbai, the state BJP on Tuesday announced the constitution a Management Committee for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state to be headed by former Union Minister Raosaheb Danve.

Assembly elections in Maharashtra are likely to be held in the second half of November, which the ruling MahaYuti comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP will contest together to take on the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).

The BJP’s move comes at a time when the party has already launched a plan to reach out to over 99,000 booths across the state to step up its connect with the voters by promoting a slew of welfare and development schemes launched by the MahaYuti government.

Danve told reporters that the committee consists of three co-convenors, heads of committees at various levels, along with special invitees and ex-officio members.

According to Danve, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde, Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar, former Union Minister Narayan Rane, former state Minister Ganesh Naik, and former Union MoS Hansraj Ahir have been appointed special invitees in the election management committee.

BJP office-bearers Randhir Savarkar, Vikrant Patil, Madhavi Naik, Vijay Chaudhary, and Sanjay Kenekar have been named ex-officio members.

"Party workers are charged up with a resolve to strive for the formation of the MahaYuti government once again in the state," Danve said.

"The poll management committee has been formed with an objective to further strengthen the booth-level organisation. Conventions are being held at the state, district and taluka levels to plan for the Assembly elections. Committees have been formed at various levels under the Assembly Election Management Committee.

"State President of the Scheduled Caste Morcha Dilip Kamble, General Secretary of the Morcha Ashok Nete, and party legislator Shrikanth Bharatiya have been appointed as co-convenors of the committee," Danve informed.

Danve also announced the heads of several panels that will work in close coordination with the election management committee.

Accordingly, state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar will head the manifesto committee; Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil will head the social liaising committee; BJP MLA Pankaja Munde will be in charge of the committee for outreach to women; Vijaya Rahatkar will head the committee for outreach to farmers; Rajya Sabha member Ashok Chavan will lead the committee for outreach to beneficiaries of various government schemes; while Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil will be in charge of the committee for outreach to youth.

BJP leader in the Legislative Council, Pravin Darekar, will head the committee for outreach to the cooperative sector; the committee for media will be headed by BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar; Union MoS Muralidhar Mohol will head the committee for outreach to urban and rural local bodies; while the committee for outreach to SCs will be led by former legislator Bhai Girkar, among others.

Danve also said that Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan has been appointed the campaign coordinator for the MahaYuti.

Meanwhile, former MP Kirit Somaiya in a letter to state BJP chief Bawankule has expressed regret and inability to work as a member of the election management committee.

"I thank Maharashtra BJP President for appointing me as a member of the campaign committee. I express my regret and inability to do the same. I have written to the state BJP chief that for the last five-and-a-half years, I have been working as an ordinary member of the BJP. I would continue to do the same as an ordinary member, and not join the campaign committee," Somaiya said.