Our poll promise is the amalgamation of regional and national aspirations: Bhupendra Yadav

BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav has been given charge of Assembly polls in Maharashtra. He speaks to The Hindu on polls, issues and the alliance with the Shiv Sena….

October 09, 2019 09:55 pm | Updated October 10, 2019 07:52 am IST

Bhupendra Yadav. File

Bhupendra Yadav. File

What are the main issues that you are going to the people with, in these polls?

These elections in Maharashtra are about the development work that the BJP government in the State has done. In the last one term, under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis, the government has done unprecedented work in irrigation, education and basic infrastructure. To maintain this development story, we are ready with not only our report card of what we have done but also our vision for the future. Coupled with the work that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has done, our poll promise is the amalgamation of regional and national aspirations with regard to development.

The Shiv Sena had asked for an equal distribution of seats, while the BJP was asserting that ground realities be accepted. Is there some lingering bitterness there. We have heard there are at least 30 rebel candidates cutting into each other’s votes.

There is no bitterness. We decided on the contours of the alliance together. It was the BJP and the Shiv Sena together that also identified the four other alliance partners in the Mahayuthi. Whatever is being said, therefore, is without any basis. There is no bitterness and we are natural partners. We have been working together for a while now. After the alliance was finalised, Chief Minister Fadnavis and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray addressed a joint presser to announce it. So there is absolutely no basis for such talk.

The writ of the Chief Minister, it is said, ran on the distribution of tickets this time and he has sidelined many stalwarts of the party leading to heartburn.

In the BJP, ticket distribution is a collective activity, and there is a democratic process that is followed. Those who have been denied tickets, those leaders too have a role in the organisation and the party. That is why, it is a collective act by the party.

Two issues that stood out during Mr. Fadnavis’s term were farmers’ agitations and the Maratha agitation. Do you expect these issues to crop up again, and are you satisfied with the way it was politically managed by the Chief Minister?

I want to point out the contrast in the way the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in the past and the BJP government at present dealt with the issue of farmers. The Congress-NCP government’s scams with regard to irrigation are well known, whereas we have increased the amount of land under irrigation. We will be presenting a vision paper soon on behalf of the party on what all we must do for the welfare of farmers (Drought Free Maharashtra).

The Opposition is saying that you are raising issues like the abrogation of Article 370, etc. in the Maharashtra polls, in order to cover up on failures on the development front by your government. To obscure the criticism through nationalist rhetoric. Your response?

First of all, nationalism and development are not contradictory, they supplement each other. Secondly, the country’s security and development is possible only if States also contribute. It is in the country’s interest if this is so. The abrogation of Article 370 was a powerful step by the Narendra Modi government in integrating the country and its impact cannot be ignored, which is why we believe that this issue is not contradictory to the narrative of development.

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