Kejriwal to address MVA rally in Mumbai on May 17: Raut

Mumbai: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will attend the Mahas Vikas Aghadi’s joint election rally in Mumbai on May 17. It will be the final rally for six Mumbai Lok Sabha constituencies that go to poll on May 20. Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut informed that Uddhav Thackeray extended an invitation to Mr. Kejriwal, which he has accepted. The BJP-lex Mahayuti’s rally, which will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi and MNS chief Raj Thackeray sharing the stage for the first time, will also be held in Mumbai on the same day.

The Supreme Court on Friday granted Mr. Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, interim bail for 21 days to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha election.

“Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Mr. Kejriwal over the phone after his release on bail. The Delhi CM is going to participate in the election campaign. He has accepted the invitation for the May 17 rally in Mumbai,” Mr. Raut said.

The rally will be held a day before the election campaign for 13 seats in Maharashtra including six Mumbai seats. The campaign for these seats will end at 5pm on May 18 and the voting will take place on May 20. This will be the last election phase in Maharashtra.

Almost simultaneously, the BJP-led alliance will also hold a rally at the iconic Shivaji Park ground. It will be the first time Raj Thackeray and the PM will address a joint rally. Interestingly, the ground has been booked for the rally by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which is not contesting even a single Lok Sabha seat.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena UBT had also applied for the permission to hold a rally at Shivaji Park on May 17, but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation granted permission to Raj Thackeray’s party as its application was filed earlier.