Fresh from winning the Kasba bypoll the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of the Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress has now decided to hold joint rallies in the state. From April 2 to June 10, the MVA will hold joint rallies in Nagpur, Pune, Parbhani and Kolhapur.

The rallies will be addressed by the head of his own faction of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray, NCP‘s Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra state Congress chief Nana Patole.

“We have decided today that we would be taking joint rallies at 7 places in the state. Our first rally will be held at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on April 2. The rest of the details we will announce soon,” said Ambadas Danve, opposition leader in the Legislative council, while speaking to reporters.

Patole said the rallies would expose the ‘anti-farmer policies of the BJP’. A Congress leader said the decision to hold joint rallies was being seen as a strategy to work on the gains of the Kasba bypoll win where a Congress candidate backed by the MVA managed to defeat the BJP candidate.

The Kasba assembly bypoll loss was a shock as the BJP had not lost from the seat for 28 years. By holding joint rallies, the MVA wants to project a united front against the BJP, the move could also help the MVA allies in the upcoming local body polls in the state.

Interestingly a joint rally is also to be held on March 15 in Mumbai ahead of the light of the civic polls in the metropolis.

Shambhuraj Desai, excise minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state, downplayed the impact of the MVA programme. “Let them take meetings, they are free to take as many meetings as they want; it does not impact the government at all,” said Desai.