india

Updated: Sep 19, 2019 13:29 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally in Nashik, Maharashtra, on Thursday afternoon. The public meeting will mark the conclusion of the Mahajanadesh Yatra undertaken by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who will accompany Modi.

Fadnavis has been touring the state, ahead of assembly polls slated next month, to highlight his government’s performance in the last five years.

Leaving for Nashik, where I will join the programme marking the conclusion of the #MahaJanadeshYatra of Maharashtra’s dynamic CM @Dev_Fadnavis Ji. Under his stellar leadership, Maharashtra has seen unparalleled progress and stability. Do watch my speech at around 1:15 PM today. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 19 September 2019

News agency PTI, quoting BJP sources, said that Modi was expected to make some announcement related to the Metro Neo project for Nashik city. Party leaders are also expecting some announcement for rural Maharashtra such as crop loan waiver.

Assembly polls in the state are due to be held next month. A delegation of the Election Commission of India visited Maharashtra for review meetings with stakeholders on Tuesday and Wednesday in Mumbai.

“We expect the announcement to be done on September 19 or 20. We require at least 35 days to complete the election process, including counting of votes. We will have to complete it before Diwali, which begins on October 27,” a state poll official had said on Monday.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday released the first list of its candidates for the state polls. Party chief Sharad Pawar announced names of five candidates who will contest the Assembly elections from Marathwada, two days after it announced that the party would contest equal number of seats (125) with the Congress.