Voters rue 2014 decision, says Praful Patel

May 26, 2018 11:53 pm | Updated May 27, 2018 11:07 am IST

NCP leader Praful Patel.

NCP leader Praful Patel.

Bhandara-Gondia is traditionally considered to be the Lok Sabha constituency of senior NCP leader Praful Patel. With the bypoll for the seat scheduled for May 28, Mr. Patel has been canvassing for his party’s candidate, Madhukar Kukade. The former Union Minister spoke to Pavan Dahat in an exclusive interview on the ground situation in Bhandara-Gondia, four years of the Modi government, and Opposition unity. Excerpts from the interview:

Why are you or your wife not contesting the bypoll?

This election is only for [a term of ] less than a year. In 2019, we can always contest. That option [isn’t] closed.

Is it not sending a wrong signal that your candidate is going to be an MP for only 10 months?

No, it doesn’t send a wrong signal. I’m a Rajya Sabha MP till 2022. So I should not give up my seat … the BJP will win it because in the Assembly, they have a majority. So why should I give up my four years’ Rajya Sabha seat for ten months of Lok Sabha?

Doesn’t that give a sense that you have put up a dummy candidate? The BJP is already making an issue out of it.

The BJP might say anything. The contest is not only about the candidates. The contest is about the party, it’s about the failure of the BJP government and so many other issues. That is what we are fighting on. It’s not just about the candidate. But the candidate is of course important. We have chosen a good candidate. He is a three-time MLA and the district president of NCP in Bhandara district … He is much more popular than the BJP candidate. He did not get elected three times just like that. Don’t compare the candidate with me. Look at it as our candidate versus their candidate. I think we have got a better, far superior candidate, who is down to earth.

How come Congress workers are more active than NCP workers in this by-election?

That is your impression, but that is not true. The workers of both the parties are working very enthusiastically.

Some NCP workers have said there’s lack of resources for this poll as compared to when you contest.

Is an election only about resources or is it an election of issues and principles? Everything is being provided. This is a canard being spread by one or two people and you people fall into that kind of trap. We are fighting the election as aggressively and as well as the BJP. Nothing is lacking in terms of what needs to be done.

Do you think Prakash Ambedkar’s candidate will eat into secular votes?

He has been put up by the BJP to try to disturb the vote which would otherwise come to us. Mr. Ambedkar, with all due respect to him, has not [even stepped] in this district in the last 15 years. How do you expect people to suddenly get enthused by him?

His party has alleged that you have an understanding pact with the BJP.

He may say what he wants. There is an election going on, anybody comes and says anything. Does it mean that we should react to it? We are strong here. You ask anybody, am I not [travelling] the length and breadth of the constituency? Me [visiting] alone has more impact than putting 100 vehicles and trying to counter all these baseless allegations … People are regretting what they did in 2014. I have the moral authority to ask people why they did not vote for me. People do realise what we were doing and the development that happened then. Every section is now feeling the heat of petrol prices and other factors. We have also justified to the people as to why did Nana Patole resign. The BJP can say what they want, but that is not cutting much ice.

The BJP has an active machinery on the ground for this election, but the NCP appears to be lagging behind.

They are in government. They are spending money like water … They talk of corruption-free India, but where do they get this kind of money from? We are also holding huge meetings. We are working very, very systematically this time, but without the pomp and show like the BJP.

How do you rate the Modi government’s four years?

This government has failed on every front. They have failed to address the issues of farmers, unemployment, price rise, corruption. All their schemes are utter failures. All this has gone against this government because they have not done anything. They can’t show one thing they did for Bhandara-Gondia in the last four years as a government.

During one NCP meeting, you had said not to rule out Sharad Pawar as the prime minister.

I am not saying that he will be or should be, or he won’t … I just said that Sharad Pawar carries the stature of a national leader who cuts across various thought processes in an Opposition scenario. I never said directly about [him] being the prime minister.

But you said not to rule him out?

Why should I rule out my leader when every other leader in the country has got an aspiration to be something? Why should we as a party not want our leader [to be PM]?

Do you see that more of a possibility now with Opposition leaders coming together? He is perceived as someone who can take everyone along.

I feel the BJP’s way of functioning has made everybody in the country realise that it is better to stay united, work with each other and help each other defeat the BJP. Mr. Pawar is one of the people who are at the forefront to see that everybody comes [together] on the same platform. Mr. Pawar and … the NCP are practical. We know we are not a party which will have numbers of Mamata Banerjee or Akhilesh Yadav or other leaders. So we are not talking along those lines. We are only talking of Sharad Pawar being a leader of national stature.

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