‘Maharashtra, Bihar experiments have belied allegations that BJP harms allies’

BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde speaks to Shailesh Gaikwad in Mumbai about the party’s prospects in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, why the Maratha agitation will not hurt the BJP again and how inducting Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar in the Mahayuti has been good for the BJP’s image. Edited excerpts:

Q. After what happened in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls, do you think it’s possible to recover lost ground?

A: Our loss in Lok Sabha was significant in terms of seats but as per votes (share) it wasn’t that much, just 0.3 percent. Our government took various decisions for the welfare of the people which has changed the situation on ground. In fact, the (vote share) gap can be bridged by the impact of Ladki Bahin Yojna alone. Sharad Pawar, on the other hand, made a statement that the Mahayuti has spent a lot on Ladki Bahin Yojna which has affected other schemes. It would mean if MVA comes to power they will shut down Ladki Bahin to back other schemes. I think people are wary of their intentions and this will reflect in the voting.
Q. MVA leaders say your government did nothing for 25 months that you were in power and then resorted to populist measures after the rout in Lok Sabha.
A: The BJP politics is the politics of direct and indirect benefit to the people. Roads, highways, dams and water supply projects are examples of indirect benefit. In the last ten years our government took up infrastructure and other development work on a large scale. Simultaneously our governments also gave direct benefits to the people–whether it was Ujjawala Yojna (cooking gas at subsidised rate), Ladki Bahin Yojna (under which ₹1500 is given to poor women monthly), the ₹10,000 stipend to students, zero electricity bills to farmers. We have blended direct and indirect benefits as part of our governance model.
Q. Who is the main opponent of the BJP? Is your party targeting the Congress or is it the regional parties?
A: For us the MVA is the opponent. Unlike the BJP, three opposition parties do not have a pan-Maharashtra presence. It is the Congress in Vidarbha, the Sharad Pawar- led NCP in western Maharashtra and the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Konkan-Mumbai. In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region -Konkan belt which has 75 seats, we are doing far better than the MVA. We will win more than 55 seats here. In Vidarbha, we have succeeded in wooing back the Kunbi community which was not with us during the Lok Sabha election. In Marathwada, Marathas who were supporting activist Manoj Jarange Patil are disappointed with him. He first announced that he would contest election by fielding candidates and then backed out. This will benefit the Mahayuti.
Q: Isn’t the Maratha reservation issue a tricky one for the BJP?
A: When it comes to Maratha reservation, the BJP has a better track record than its opponents. I would like to point out the history. In 1980, Maratha leader Annasaheb Patil demanded reservation for Maratha community which was refused by then Congress chief minister Babasaheb Bhosale. Congress didn’t include Marathas when the Other Backward Class (OBC) category was created after Mandal Commission report. Ahead of 2014 elections, Prithiviraj Chavan led Congress-NCP government gave reservation which was turned down by the court. After 2014, when our government was in power, we gave 13 percent quota by creating separate category for Marathas and the High Court upheld it. When the case went to the Supreme Court, the MVA government was in power here. It did not fight the case properly and the apex scrapped the separate quota.
So the Marathas by and large know it was the BJP which had offered reservation. We are pointing this out to the people. It will have an effect, I don’t see any major loss because of the Maratha quota issue.
Q: The BJP has been accused of breaking regional parties in Maharashtra. How does this accusation affect the BJP?
A: In 2019, the BJP- Shiv Sena alliance had won the majority but Uddhav Thackeray ditched us because of which we were compelled to go with the current combination. If he had not gone with the Congress and the NCP, this situation would not have arisen. People also say how could you go with Ajit Pawar. I would like to remind them that in 2014, we won 123 seats and needed 22 for simple majority. Uddhav Thackeray did not support us for the first six months. In that time, it was the same NCP-Ajit Pawar who supported our government. If we could take his support in 2014 then why not 2024?
Q: If the Mahayuti returns to power, will the chief minister be from the BJP?
A: We are contesting this election under the leadership of CM Eknath Shinde. Even he has made it clear that the decision on the next chief minister will be taken post-election. We are not going to discuss who the CM will be until then.
Q: So, numbers will decide which party will get the CM’s post?
A: Not just numbers, the (prevailing) socio-political situation will also be considered.
Q: But just in case the BJP does get the chief ministership, will Devendra Fadnavis the the automatic choice or might the party consider a new face?
A: The party’s central leadership will decide on whether to pick a new face like we did in Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh or give another opportunity to Devendraji (Fadnavis). Fact is, he did sacrifice by accepting the deputy chief minister’s post (when Shinde was made chief minister).
Q: There were also speculation about your possible return to state politics. Would you be interested in the chief minister’s post if it were to be offered?
A: For me, there’s only rashtra, not just Maharashtra. I would love to continue working at the national level.
Q: In 2019, BJP let Shinde become the chief minister though you had more MLAs (105) than him (41). As the tenure of the government ends, does the party think the experiment has worked or is there some regret about making him the CM?
A: Any decision is taken as per the political necessity of that time. In Maharashtra and Bihar, our party gave chief ministership to allies who had fewer MLAs than us. We don’t regret our decision. In fact, in both the states, our alliance worked well. It has also proven our opponents who alleged that BJP harms its allies wrong. In both the states, we have given stable governments and people are happy with our performance.
Q: There is also speculation that Uddhav Thackeray may return to the NDA.
A: In theory, anything can happen in politics but in this case, the dispute between the two parties is ideological. I don’t see any chance of him reuniting with us. Thackeray has given up Hindutva for votes. He also needs to clear his stand on J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah’s demand for restoring article 370 which the Congress supports. What is his opinion? Is it same as Balasaheb’s or has it changed now?
Q: What is your assessment in Jharkhand where you’ve been campaigning?
A: In Jharkhand, the people will vote for us. There has been rampant corruption under the Soren family’s regime and they will be exposed.