After attacking the BJP on issues ranging from farm distress to demonetization, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will hit the roads later this month for a series of public meetings and interactions.
The ‘Shetkari Samvad Yatra’ will be launched from Western Maharashtra, with Uddhav addressing a rally at Kolhapur on November 24. On November 25 and 26, the Sena chief will also travel to Sangli and Karad in Satara district for public meetings.
“The Shetkari Samvad Yatra will help us reach out to farmers and other interest groups like traders and even the common man. Uddhavji will cover all districts by March 2018 beginning with Western Maharashtra,” said a senior Shiv Sena leader.
He added that during the campaign, Uddhav would hold public meetings and also interact with farmers and residents in nearby areas. “Apart from farmers, we will also tap the discontent among the small traders, shopkeepers, and youth, who are deprived of jobs,” the Shiv Sena leader said.
The Sena leader added that Uddhav would also interact with grape producers and sugarcane farmers in the area to “understand their problems.”
Other areas like the Konkan, Vidarbha, North Maharashtra and Marathwada will be covered in the subsequent phases of the campaign.
Western Maharashtra, which accounts for over 70 of the 288 seats in the state assembly, has been a traditional base of the Congress and the NCP. However, of late, the BJP has been able to make inroads in the region by pocketing civic bodies and Zilla Parishads in districts like Pune, Sangli, Solapur, and Kolhapur. The Shiv Sena claims that with the BJP government’s popularity on the wane, it can fancy its chances in the sugar belt.
Uddhav will also visit Aurangabad on November 12 and Ratnagiri on November 15 for party programs.
