Prithviraj Chavan says all is well in MVA it will fight polls as united force against ruling Shinde-BJP combine

Amid  reports of cracks in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said all was well in the three-party alliance and it would fight future elections as a united force against the Eknath Shinde-BJP government in the state.

After the MVA's first joint rally held in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad, on April 2, reports of differences in the alliance are rife as they cited former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray getting preferential treatment at the event and state Congress chief Nana Patole staying away from the public meeting.

Terming the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis dispensation as unholy, Chavan said the MVA alliance comprising the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, was determined to defeat the incumbent government in the next Assembly elections scheduled in 2024.

When asked whether the MVA unity was just on paper given the buzz about Uddhav Thackeray getting special treatment at the MVA's joint rally, absence of prominent Congress leaders there and reports of the lack of enthusiasm in the grand old party, Chavan said as per the understanding reached by the three partners, each rally will be helmed by one party.

The former Maharashtra chief minister said there was nothing to speculate on who would lead the opposition alliance as all partners were equal. He also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was afraid of Rahul Gandhi's popularity and the questions he raised on the Adani issue, and that was the reason why the PM did not want him in Parliament.