Mumbai, Aug 4: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday said several programmes will be held here to mark the birth anniversary of late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on August 20 in which party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will take part, while MVA allies Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray have been invited. Rajiv Gandhi Birth Anniversary 2024: Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar To Join Mallikarjun Kharge for Former Indian PM’s 80th Birth Anniversary on August 20 in Mumbai.

Rajiv Gandhi was born in Mumbai on August 20, 1944. Chennithala, who held a meeting with the state leadership here during the day, also said people of Maharashtra want change and the Lok Sabha results made that evident.

"The MVA has the support of the people. We will fight the polls unitedly to bring change in the state," he said. "There was no talk of seat sharing in today's meeting. We are going to contest as the MVA alliance and bring about change.

People favour the MVA and that was evident in the Lok Sabha polls," Chennithala told reporters after the meeting. The MVA, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) of Sharad Pawar, won 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, bringing down the BJP's tally from 23 in 2019 to nine.

Chennithala met state party leaders and discussed strategy and issues to be highlighted in the upcoming assembly polls, the Congress' Mumbai unit chief Varsha Gaikwad said. Chennithala held deliberations with the state Congress leaders ahead of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi's meet scheduled on August 7, Gaikwad told reporters. Rajiv Gandhi 80th Birth Anniversary: Himachal Govt Asks Officials To Take 'Sadbhavna Diwas Pratigya' on Rajiv Gandhi Jayanti.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Thackeray and NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar are expected to attend the MVA meeting on Wednesday. Gaikwad, the Congress MP from Mumbai North Central seat, said she has held discussions with Thackeray on the opposition alliance's approach in Mumbai regarding seat-sharing. "Talks are on. We will contest the assembly polls in alliance," she said.

Apart from Gaikwad, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, state unit head Nana Patole and senior leaders Nitin Raut, Satej Patil and Naseem Khan attended the deliberations with Chennithala. Polls to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are likely to be held in October.