The election manifestos of the MVA and BJP were released in Mumbai on Sunday. At their individual events, leaders from both sides took a dig at the other. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, reacting to a statement made by PM Modi, said it wasn’t his party and allies who divided society, but it was the BJP that had already split communities. He also questioned how many people from the SC and ST communities had been given important ministries by the BJP. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah who spoke at the BJP event targeted the Congress for its ‘divisive’ and ‘appeasement’ politics. He also challenged Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to make his MVA partners praise Veer Savarkar and Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has promised a strict law against forced and fraudulent conversions after the BJP comes to power in Maharashtra. The legislation is one among 25 promises the party made ahead of the November 20 polls that Shah is confident of winning hands down.