Maharashtra polls: Rahul Gandhi did not campaign in state earlier as he knows Congress will lose, says Devendra Fadnavis at Pune rally

Pune: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did not turn up for campaigning in Maharashtra initially as he knew that his party was going to lose, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Pune on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_7431811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. PTI[/caption] Addressing a rally for 21 October state elections in Purandar assembly constituency in Pune district, Fadnavis said there was no contest this time as the opposition was weak. “Rahul Gandhi also ignored the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana as he knows the result of these elections,” he said. Gandhi started campaigning in Maharashtra on Sunday. If Vijay Shivtare, the Shiv Sena leader and BJP-Sena alliance’s candidate from Purandar, wanted to increase his victory margin, he should ask the opposite side to arrange a rally of Rahul Gandhi, Fadnavis said in a dig at Congress leader. Click here for detailed coverage of Assembly Elections 2019 The BJP-led government carried out better infrastructure development in Maharashtra than the past Congress and NCP regime, he said. Due to Shivtare’s efforts as a minister, the Gunjawani pipeline project is being implemented successfully in the district, the chief minister said. He also mentioned the international airport which is coming up in Punrandar, saying it will give a boost to agriculture export from the region.