With several Congress rebels in the fray for Maharasthra Assembly polls slated for November 20, Senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala has firmly ruled out all possibilities of any “friendly fights” at a press conference held here on Thursday at Tilak Bhavan where he announced that all party rebels contesting against official candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have been suspended for six years.

He said that all district units of the Congress have been asked to prepare a list of MVA rebels still in the fray for the state assembly polls and serve notices to them.

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The statement was issued immediately after a Congress campaign committee meeting which was presided over by Chennithala. The Maharashtra campaign committee meeting was chaired by campaign committee head and MP Chandrakant Handore and attended by committee co-ordinator and Maharashtra state vice president Nana Gawande, besides and other members.

Speaking to the media shortly after the meeting, Chennithala said that the party President Mallikarjun Kharge will tour Maharashtra for five days, with rallies scheduled on November 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18. He said that senior leader Rahul Gandhi will hold campaign rallies on November 12, 14, and 16, while Priyanka Gandhi will address rallies on November 13, 16 and 17. The Chief Ministers of Telangana and Karnataka, along with other senior party leaders from across the country, will also join the MVA campaign, he stated.

The press conference was also attended by former Maharashtra minister Suresh Shetty, State vice president for organisation and administration Nana Gawande, Social Media Department Head Vishal Muttamewar and SAC Department Head Siddharth Hattiambire.

Chennithala said that the five-point public service programme announced yesterday will be promoted among the people through a door-to-door campaign.

The MVA manifesto will be released on November 10 in the presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole, Legislature Party Leader Balasaheb Thorat, Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, NCP State President Jayant Patil, and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut will also be present at the event.

Chennithala, answering questions from the media, also said that the guarantees announced by the MVA will be implemented as soon as an MVA government is formed in Maharashtra. He said that the BJP has been deliberately releasing false advertisements to spread rumours and misinformation against the guarantees announced by the Congress.

“Some advertisements have been published in various newspapers without any attribution. The Congress will file a complaint with the Election Commission about this. In Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh, Congress has already started implementing the guarantees it promised, but the BJP is deliberately spreading false information. All guarantees, including the Mahalaxmi Scheme announced by Mr Gandhi yesterday, were announced only after a careful study and a thorough discussion about how exactly funds would be allocated,” Chennithala said.