Amit Shah's 2-day Maharashtra visit begins today

BJP President Amit Shah will be on a two-day tour of Maharashtra from Wednesday to take stock of the party’s ‘Maha Sampark Abhiyan’, launched to strengthen the organisation. “Out of the total 10 crore members enrolled with the BJP, 1 crore are from Maharashtra alone. These enrolments were done through mobile phones. Now, there is a need of heart-to-heart connect with masses to take the abhiyan forward.

Thus, to discuss the way further, party president Amit Shah will come to Mumbai Wednesday evening,” state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Shah will arrive in the city tomorrow evening and will meet MPs, MLAs of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, and office bearers, he said.

The visit assumes significance in the wake of a severe drubbing the party has been faced with its ministers being charged with several allegations from the opposition.

Cabinet ministers Babanrao Lonikar and Vinod Tawde are facing allegations of submitting forged educational qualification degrees.

Rural development minister Pankaja Munde has been in the line of fire for allegedly flouting rules while awarding contracts worth Rs 206 crore for procurement of various goods through a rate contract system without inviting tenders.

The minister, however, dismissed that the visit is "political" in nature, saying his party is only concentrating on adding new members and nurturing the existing ones.