As per the initial plan, the Yatra will take place in a phase wise manner. After kick-starting from Nasik on August 8, the first phase will continue for four to five days.

From Nasik, the Yatra is likely to cover Dhule and Ahmednagar districts.

Under the Yatra, public rallies, meetings and processions will be held that will be attended by all the senior leaders of the region, along with Pawar. Each minister has been given the task to handle the programmes of the Yatra in his/her region. The ruling alliance is yet to finalise its seat-sharing formula for assembly polls and the move is seen by the party as an attempt to regroup its leaders and workers, after the disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha election.

“In each phase, party leaders will be covering a set of districts. Till elections, we will be covering the entire state,” a party leader said. The official announcement of the Yatra is likely to be made on Monday.

The party has chosen Nashik, the home district of senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal, to kick-start the Yatra. Bhujbal was at the centre of the ongoing Maratha-OBC dispute in the state after he aggressively put forward the OBC side and opposed Maratha reservation from OBC quota, as demanded by social activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.

“We will be travelling from different districts and the aim is to cover majority of assembly seats out of 288 in Maharashtra. This will not only boost the party but will also be beneficial to our allies,” the leader added.

The coordination responsibilities have been assigned to Cooperation Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde, Food and Drug Administration Minister Dharmarao Baba Atram, Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, Sports Minister Sanjay Bansode and Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Anil Bhaidas Patil.