The Bhartiya Janata Party's contenders in the Maharashtra assembly elections are the NCP and Congress, and not the Shiv Sena, State BJP president Devendra Fadnavis has said.
Speaking to The Hindu in an exclusive interview during his hectic campaign schedule, Mr. Fadnavis said, “It’s clear to everyone now why our alliance with Shiv Sena ended. People know whose dreams of becoming the CM contributed to the split. But we don’t want to look back now. Our fight is with the NCP and the Congress and we have decided not to criticize the Shiv Sena. Now they (Shiv Sena) have to decide who they want to fight with.”
On the possibility of a post-poll alliance with the Shiv Sena in case of a fractured mandate, Mr. Fadnavis claimed that his party would not “need” and would not “make” any post poll alliance.
“The BJP will get a clear majority and with our partners we will get a comfortable majority,” he asserted while asking his former alliance partner “to stop speaking on non-issues”.
When asked about the “overt dependence” of Maharashtra BJP on prime minster Narendra Modi, the three times MLA said, “Modiji is our captain and he leads from the front. There is a huge Modi-wave in Maharashtra and people want to go with him. He is connecting with the masses here and we want to en-cash that.”
While he refused to come clear on who will be the CM candidate of the BJP including his own aspirations of becoming the CM, Mr.Fadnavis said that his party had a “galaxy” of leaders eligible for the CMs post.
“But at this point we are working as a team and this team will take the BJP to the Mantralaya in Mumbai. The CM will be decided by the elected legislatures and the party’s parliamentary board of which the PM is also a member,” contended the 44 year old MLA from Nagpur (South-west).
Reacting to the allegations of MNS chief Raj Thackeray of a BJP leader hatching a conspiracy with Sharad Pawar to break the ‘Grand alliance’, Mr. Fadnavis contended that the same allegations could be leveled against the MNS chief for his “understanding” with the NCP in Nashik Municipal Corporation and his decision of not to field a candidate against Chhagan Bhujbal.
He categorically ruled out any possibility of a post-poll alliance with the NCP and said the PM’s open attack on the NCP chief has made things clear.
Mr. Fadnavis also maintained that his party was committed to a separate Vidarbha state but refused to give a time-frame over its formation.
Terming the media reports about the rift between him and Nitin Gadkari as “baseless", Mr.Fadnavis said, “I don’t think we have any issues between us. While working in politics there may be difference of opinion but both of us work together and take decisions unanimously."
