MVA will sweep polls in Maha next year: Thorat

Nashik: Senior state Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said in Shrirampur taluka on Saturday that the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition would sweep next year’s Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Maharashtra.Thorat was in the taluka with local Congress MLA Lahu Kanade to meet party workers and told them to start preparations for the upcoming elections.Speaking to TOI, he said there was perfect understanding between the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) and the three were preparing to take on the BJP-Shiv Sena combine.“State Congress’s assessment is the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will register convincing victories in the General and Assembly elections. The ruling dispensations at the Centre and state are aware of the mood of Maharashtra’s voters who are in favour of the MVA. Considering this, central agencies — like the enforcement directorate — are being used by ruling parties to defame and demoralise MVA leaders. It is the way of the incumbents to create panic among us coalition partners,” said Thorat, who was the former chief of the state Congress.Meanwhile, he said he was apprehensive about the entry of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) into Maharashtra politics and it was primarily aimed to damage MVA’s prospects in next year’s elections.“The BRS is trying to strengthen its base in rural parts of the state, especially among the farmers fraternity which is increasingly distancing itself from the ruling combine. However, the MVA will manage to defeat all its opponents,” he added.Lashing out at his political foe and state revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, the Congress leader said the defeat of the panel backed by Vikhe-Patil in the Shree Ganesh Mill elections at Rahata in Ahmednagar showed resentment against the BJP MLA.“Unlike Vikhe-Patil, my relationship with grassroots party workers has always been cordial through my entire political career,” he said. In the sugar mill election, Thorat and Ahmednagar BJP leader Vivek Kolhe had joined hands. The duo’s panel won 18 of the 19 seats in the election.