'Housefull' board in BJP soon, warns Fadnavis

Citing the hordes of leaders from various Opposition parties who are joining the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday warned that the party will soon put up a "Housefull" board.

"We are going to take only good people, very selectively. Those facing probes or investigations, will not be taken to the party fold. They will be shown the 'Housefull' board," Fadnavis said here.

His comments came amidst reports that many more leaders and legislators from the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party are expected to walk over to the BJP ahead of the October Assembly elections.

On Wednesday, as many as four sitting legislators - one from Congress, three from the NCP, a prominent NCP woman leader and others joined the ruling party at a big function in Mumbai.

Kickstarting the BJP's election campaign through a month-long 'Mahajanadesh Yatra' at Mozari village here, Fadnavis also assured that all efforts would be taken up to make Maharashtra "drought-free".

"I will not allow the next generation to see drought under any circumstances," he said amidst thunderous applause as he launched the yatra on a special van designed as a 'rath'.

"I don't claim that everything is okay, or all the peoples' issues are resolveda However, in the past five years, we have achieved more than twice of what the earlier three governments (Congress-NCP) managed in their 15 years rule," Fadnavis claimed.

He said that the state regained its numero uno positon in several sectors, though issues like drought remain a major challenge confronting the state, particularly Vidarbha, Marathwada and parts of north and western Maharashtra.

To provide a long-term solution, he said the government plans to "interlink" all the major rivers in the state.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off the 'Mahajanadesh Yatra' in the presence of state BJP President Chandrakant Patil, senior ministers, legislators and party leaders.

Fadnavis embarked on the grueling 4,384 km-long 'Mahajanadesh Yatra' which will cover Konkan (638 km), western Maharashtra (812 km), Vidarbha (1,232 km), north Maharashtra (633 km) and Marathwada (1,069 km).

The 'rath' is equipped with a special LED screen to highlight the achievements of the BJP-Shiv Sena government in the past five years.

In the first phase, Fadnavis will cover 14 districts of Vidarbha and north Maharashtra touching 57 assembly constituencies, between August 1-9, ending at Nandurbar.

From August 17, he will take up the second phase covering 93 constituencies in 18 districts.

During the 'Mahajanadesh Yatra', Fadnavis will touch 150 assembly segments spread across 32 districts and give an account of the government's performance in the past five years, state BJP chief Patil said.

En route, the CM is slated to address 87 major rallies and 57 other public meetings, besides being accorded receptions in over 238 villages.

BJP state General Secretary Sujitsinh Thakur is entrusted with the responsibility of organising the mega-yatra, all ministers will be present at the inauguration on August 1, and later local legislators/ministers shall be attendance during the course of the yatra, and major events shall be telecast live.

Maharashtra has a total of 288 assembly constituencies, including 36 in Mumbai, for which elections are expected to be held in October. IANS