Shinde knows Cong-NCP won't get LoP status without merger: CM

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that senior Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde made a pitch for Congress-NCP merger as he meant to convey that only through this move these parties can bag the post of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly.

Fadnavis said the Congress and NCP will not get the numbers required to get the LoP post.

A political party has to bag 10 per cent of the total number of seats to get the LoP post.

"Sushilkumar Shinde said in Solapur that they are now tired and cannot work now. He pitched for the merger of NCP and Congress. Shinde is a leader with foresight...he knows what the situation is," the chief minister said.

He was addressing a public rally in Phaltan in Satara district, where BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI(A) candidate Digambar Aagwane is in the fray.

Fadnavis added that Shinde can foresee the condition of both the parties post-election.

"He knows that both the parties will not even get 10 per cent seats required to elect the Leader of Opposition and that is why he pitched for merger of both the parties so that together they can get 10 per cent seats and secure the post of LoP," he said.

Fadnavis said that the ongoing assembly poll campaign is a one-sided affair as the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has no real opponent.

"Even a child will tell that the state assembly polls are pre-decided and it's a foregone conclusion that the BJP- Sena are set to retain power with a better margin," he said.

Even Rahul Gandhi has conceded defeat and that is why he left for Bangkok in the midst of the election campaign, Fadnavis alleged.

He said that in the 15 years of the Congress-NCP rule, the erstwhile government did not think about the common man who in turn taught them a lesson in 2014.

"My government has done better than the 15-year rule of the Congress and NCP," he claimed.

Fadnavis also said he will ensure that Maharashtra is made drought-free in the next five years.

He also promised that urban and rural infrastructure in the state will be upgraded.