Pune: While speaking with the press during the release of Republican Party of India’s (RPI) manifesto for the State Assembly elections in the city on Wednesday, Ramdas Athawale said, “Fadnavis-Thackeray-Athawale alliance will win Maharashtra Assembly elections and no one can stop us from getting 230-240 seats.”
Commenting on the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s age in his typical style, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said, “Even though Sharad Pawar was a wrestler in the State politics for a long time, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and I are real political wrestlers in the State politics now.”
Athawale’s RPI, which is also an ally of NDA will contest five seats in the forthcoming elections. Athawale said, “I wonder who will sit in the opposition after the polls, as Bharatiya Janata Party will emerge as the single largest party.”
He further added, “Let me remind you that all the criticism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi before Lok Sabha elections did not work and he came to power. This time too, it will not work and the BJP will gain a huge majority in the State.”
Five candidates of RPI are contesting on BJP party symbol in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. When asked about it, he said, “To get a recognised party symbol from election commission, we need to fulfil their criteria. If BJP offers us more seats, we will fulfil the criteria to get a recognised symbol for the party.”
Few points from RPI manifesto