Mumbai, Sep 25: Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will transform the Ladki Bahin Yojana for women into a rights-based scheme, if the opposition alliance comes to power in Maharashtra.
Speaking at the India Today Conclave here, Chavan also said the Congress deserves maximum seats (among its allies) in the assembly polls, noting the party won more seats than other MVA constituents in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year.
Out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the Congress won 13 while its allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) won 9 and 8 seats, respectively.
Chavan also said there is no need to have one leader in the MVA and expressed confidence that the alliance will win back Maharashtra. Every election is different and political parties can't be overconfident, the former state chief minister said.
Elections to the 288-member state assembly are likely to be held in November.
Asked if the Mahayuti government's flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana, for providing financial assistance to women, will be scrapped if the MVA comes to power in Maharashtra, Chavan said the scheme of empowering women is a Congress idea.
A scheme is being implemented in Karnataka and Telangana where women get Rs 2,000 (per month). There is no question why the Congress will not implement it in Maharashtra, he said. "It is the rightful payment for unpaid work of women in raising the next generation. We will make the Ladki Bahin Yojana a rights-based scheme in Maharashtra," he said.
Chavan also said the formation of the opposition INDIA bloc, an alliance of several parties before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was a masterstroke even though "not a perfect alliance". But division of opposition votes was avoided in the Lok Sabha polls, he said.
On questions about the MVA's chief ministerial face, Chavan said the largest party gets to name the chief minister and it was the practice till now. "It is up to the Congress leadership to decide if an exception should be made," he said.
"There is no need to have one leader in MVA. We will have a common manifesto. The Congress deserves maximum seats. We walked into the alliance as junior partner but in the Lok Sabha elections, we got more seats," he said.
