The coalition of Shinde-Fadnavis-Pawar government in Maharashtra has greenlit a two-month "Special Publicity Campaign." The campaign will cost INR 84.10 crore and will run through February and March. This means the campaign will use INR 1.4 crore each day for two months. The campaign will show state government advertisements through various mediums.
Advertisements will feature in print, television, radio, jingles, websites, movie theatre publicity, outdoor media, including hoardings, and social media. The advertisements will talk about the government's public schemes, future and current development projects, and government objectives.
The state government has given INR 20 crore for print media and INR 20.80 crore for community radios, FM radio, movie theatres, private news and entertainment channels, and audio jingles at bus stops.
A sum of INR 75.50 lakh will be used to produce print and television government advertisements. Electric hoardings, the slide and back panel of ST buses, metro rap, sign boards, railway rap, LED screens of buses and trains, and LED displays of places of worship will all cost INR 37.55 crore. The government also plans to spend INR 5 crore on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
The decision has sparked opposition. The timing comes right before the 2024 Lok Sabha election schedule. Rohit Pawar, Leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, questioned the need for such extravagant advertising when funds are often cited as an issue in response to public issues. He also questioned if the campaign's secret agenda is the Lok Sabha campaign's publicity.
But, compared to the Shinde government's special PR drive during the same time last year, the amount is far less. A similar campaign for INR 143 crore was organised by the government last year. The goal was to showcase the accomplishments of the state administration in its first half of office.
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