Devendra Fadnavis tells NDTV “There are only 2 groups in this election, pro-Modi and anti-Modi”

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that NDA will win 41 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in 2019 elections despite strong challenge from Maha Vikas Aghadi, And said every election is not about political arithmetic and the upcoming polls will be about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chemistry with the people.

In an interview with NDTV Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia on Friday, Mr Fadnavis also spoke about the alliance on seat-sharing, infrastructure development in Maharashtra and Mumbai, possible Issues such as new allies and shortcomings under the previous administration. Former alliance partner Uddhav Thackeray.

Maharashtra, 48, has sent the second-highest number of MLAs to the Lok Sabha, when Mr Fadnavis was asked about the complex situation in the state given the split between the Shiv Sena and the NCP. On politics, “This is not about faction or party,” he said. “There are two camps, one for Prime Minister Modi and one against him. The people decide to vote for those who support Prime Minister Modi, regardless of which party or Symbol.”

On why the BJP announced a list of 20 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections despite reportedly having an agreement with the Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction and the NCP’s Ajit Pawar faction on seat allocation There were difficulties and Mr Fadnavis said 80 per cent of the constituencies were in favor of an agreement that all parties would be free to announce the names.

Stressing that despite supporting incumbency, the BJP has always worked with its allies and led them forward, Fadnavis refused to confirm the number of seats the parties decided to contest, citing alliance dharma. He also said there was no formula for the BJP to take the lead in the Lok Sabha polls and give a larger share to its allies in the assembly elections.

“We have 115 seats in the Assembly, the Sena has 50 seats and the NCP has 42 or 43 seats. So, we are still the largest party in the alliance. Our partners understand this too. But I can For sure, they will be respected. We will also fight and win the parliamentary elections together.”

New alliance?

When asked about trying to ally with Uddhav Thackeray again, Fadnavis dismissed the idea and criticized the former chief minister’s stance on certain issues.

“There is no scope for any such attempt. You can note that. I don’t know if he is trying. From our perspective, there is no scope and no reason to do so. The role he is playing, the anti-Modi role… ….I feel sad that for the sake of vote bank politics, he is now indulging in pseudo-secular appeasement politics,” he said in Hindi.

“He was against the Citizenship Amendment Act. I find it difficult to understand that Bal Thackeray’s son can do that. So I think these groups are now divided,” he added.

The BJP leader said the NDA was confident of winning 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls but the party was not complacent.

On whether the BJP will take up the chief minister’s post, he said: “The assembly polls will take some time. It is not about who has the claim. Alliances are about winning in certain areas and making some sacrifices. It is difficult in politics Predict anything “Who would have thought that Uddhav Thackeray would ditch us after 2019? What I can say is that the alliance will compete together and the chief minister will remain in office till then. “

“It is true, however, that we had difficulties in forming an alliance with him earlier. The problem is that while the BJP believes in regional identity, it is also focused on national identity. We do not believe in exclusivity,” he said in a major speech. Politics. Raj Thackeray has now expanded his thought process besides talking in Marathi – as he should.

“He is now talking about Hinduism and that is something that can connect him to us. So although the talks have not started, if you had asked me earlier, I would have said we cannot ally with him, but I will not say that now… …At the same time, we already have three parties in the coalition and accommodating one more party will be a task,” he added.

“Not dependent on institutions”

Fadnavis refuted the opposition’s allegations that the BJP was relying on the Enforcement Directorate and central agencies and said the judiciary would not allow any agency to overstep its boundaries. At the same time, the opposition cannot talk about political grudges if there is corruption, he said.

“You cannot win votes on an electoral basis. The poor sections of society believe that the only person who can benefit them, society and the country is Prime Minister Modi,” he asserted.

Claiming that the BJP would surpass the number of seats it won in 2019, despite post-poll predictions varying, the deputy chief minister said: “I think political pundits sometimes make a mistake and they assume that every election It’s all about arithmetic. This election is not about political arithmetic but political chemistry. In arithmetic, 1+1 is 2, in political chemistry, 1+1 is 11. The chemistry of the common man is about Prime Minister Modi. No Political experts can understand this, and neither can they.”

Electoral bonds, infrastructure development

Mr Fadnavis stressed that Maratha reservation would not affect OBC reservation and also touched on the issue of electoral bonds.

“The Supreme Court has given the order and the Election Commission is complying with it. All I can say is that the BJP has been trying to curb the use of black money in elections and pushed for the use of accounted funds. I don’t want to argue about right and wrong, but we are getting the data because It’s accounting funding… We’ve made several reforms to political funding,” he said.

Mr. Fadnavis said Prime Minister Modi and the Maharashtra government were focusing on infrastructure development and mentioned the works on Atal Setu and Coastal Road. Taking another dig at Uddhav Thackeray, he said the suspension of work at metro stations has delayed the project but it will be ready this year and so will the Navi Mumbai airport.

Mr. Fadnavis also talked about the Nagpur and Pune Metros and highlighted the Wadwan Port, which he said can accommodate even the world’s largest container ships. “This is all possible because the speed and scale of the Modi government are unprecedented,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister also said that the redevelopment of Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, takes into account the resettlement of residents in the area.

“Dharavi is also an economic hub. Keeping this in mind, we will provide facilities to enhance production and grant them five-year exemption from paying GST to facilitate their integration into the formal economy. In Dharavi after 2011 The people who are settled will also be resettled, maybe some distance away… When the reconstruction is completed, people will see how we can defeat poverty and provide rights to the poor,” he said.

“Lots of opportunities”

Fadnavis, who thanked Chief Minister Shinde for the freedom given to him, said Uddhav Thackeray did not do enough while holding the post. “The people of Mumbai gave many opportunities to Uddhav Thackeray but he did not take any action. Nothing iconic has been done or built by him or his party people in the city,” he claimed.

The deputy chief minister said plans to build a Shivaji statue on Mumbai’s coast had been bogged down by litigation and the high-speed rail project had been delayed by Mr Thackeray but had now “taken off again like a bullet”. He also said that the Mumbai Race Course will not go anywhere but a huge park will be built around it.