"We are a common man's government," Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde confident of Mahayuti returning to power

Guwahati (Assam) [India], October 23 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the Kamakya temple on Wednesday to pay obeisance before the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
He said that it is regular thing for him to visit the temple, as he had come here before the last election and after forming the government in 2022.
"I had come to Kamakhya temple before the last election too, and after being elected too. Blessing of Maa Kamakhya is enough. Now the darshan is done, I liked it a lot, it was a visit filled with reverence and I am very happy with it," he said.

Shinde also said that he is confident in the Mahayuti alliance retaining power in Maharashtra.
Exuding confidence in winning the elections, he said, "I am more than a hundred per cent confident, because people will work in favour of the work Mahayuti government has done in two years, when compared with Maha Vikas Aghadi work in two and a half years and people can see development happening at a fast pace."
Calling the Mahayuti alliance a 'common man's government' he further highlighted that the government has done a lot of developmental work.
"Our government is a common man's government, and that is why there should be a change and improvement in the common man's life too. We have worked on improving the lives of the people," he added.
He further spoke about hotly debated topic of the Maratha reservation.
"In our state, whether it is a Maratha or an OBC, we want it that there is no discrimination between each other," he said.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will contest from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly constituency.
Other candidates from the Shiv Sena included in the list are Manisha Ravindra Waykar from Jogeshwari (East), Suhas Dwarkanath Kande from Nandgao, Pradip Shivnarayan Jaiswal from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (middle) and Balaji Devidasrao Kalyankar from Nanded North.
The party has pushed for CM Shinde to be presented as the face for the chief ministerial position in its recent meeting held on October 18.
Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with the counting for all 288 assembly constituencies to be held on November 23.
The main electoral contest is between two alliances; the ruling Mahayuti alliance - comprising of the BJP along with Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) - comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress. Both the factions have intensified their preparations as the polling dates draw near.
Earlier, Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) released its first list of candidates, with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar contesting from Baramati.
In the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and Congress won 44 seats.