Shinde-led Maharashtra govt plans Rs 84 cr special publicity drive ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has planned a media blitzkrieg of Rs 84.10 crore to highlight the state government’s schemes and projects.

The general administration department Monday issued a government resolution, a copy of which ThePrint has seen, sanctioning the budget for the special publicity drive. The Rs 84.10 crore are budgeted to be spent on government advertisements over February and March this year.

“The special publicity drive is mainly to give information to people about the schemes, projects, development works taken in 2023-24,” an official from the department told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.

ThePrint reached Hemraj Bagul, Director, Directorate General of Information and Public Relations, via calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.

The amount is, however, much lower than what the Shinde government spent in its special publicity drive around the same time last year. Last year, the government had planned a similar drive worth Rs 143 crore, mainly to highlight the state government’s achievements in its first six months.