Congress legislative party leader and one of the top contenders for the chief minister’s post if the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comes to power, Babasaheb Thorat, who is contesting his ninth election, spoke with Sudhir Suryawanshi about the MVA’s prospects in the hustings. Excerpts:You have been travelling across Maharashtra. What is the mood on the ground? Will the Maharashtra election go the Haryana way or can the MVA manage to pull it off?I do not want to compare Maharashtra and Haryana because different states have different sociopolitical conditions. But I am confident that the MVA is poised to win the elections and form the next government in Maharashtra.Maharashtra has always stood with the secular and progressive forces and history will repeat itself. The polling and counting day is not far away, let us wait and see.Is there a number you have in mind that the Congress and MVA will manage to get?See, after travelling across Maharashtra and with the experience I have, I would say that the MVA would get around 160 to 180 seats out of a total of 288 seats. And in the MVA, the Congress will end up as a major force. Today’s Congress is different because Rahul Gandhi’s yatra has weaned the people towards the Congress in Maharashtra. The Congress workers feel more positive and energetic. They are hopeful about the MVA victory.What are the key issues dominating the elections?The agrarian distress is a major issue in this election. There is simmering anger among cotton and soybean farmers. In the Lok Sabha elections, it was the onion prices, which helped us defeat the BJP in many parts of the state. This time around, cotton and soybean would deliver a big blow to the BJP in Vidarbha, Marathwada and the whole of North Maharashtra which is known as the cotton and soybean belt.Any particular reason why farmers will go against the Mahayuti? The government is giving Rs 12000 under the Kisan Samman Nidhi to each poor and needy farmer.Superficial measures will not help the farmers in any way. Farmers, on the ground, are not seeking financial help. They are however asking for a good price for their produce.See, this year, the price of soybean has dipped below the government allotted minimum support price. But the soybean oil price remains on the higher side for the consumer. In a similar manner, the current cotton price is Rs 6,000 per quintal, which is below the MSP while the input and labour costs have gone up drastically.This year, due to the heavy rains witnessed during the first season of crop yield, the crop was damaged while during the second season, the cotton got damaged due to pink fly bollworm and the farmers were in dire straits when the government failed to buy the cotton at fair rates. This time, there is a triple whammy for the farmers. They even failed to recover their expenses as well. Therefore this simmering anger among the farmers is evident for all to see.Former Union minister Sharad Pawar recently said that the party that wins the largest numbers of seats in the MVA will get the chief minister post? What is your view on it?One should understand that Sharad Pawar is the seniormost leader of Maharashtra who is also the architect, father and guide of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. He is playing a father figure to the MVA, like a father who encourages his child to get good marks, saying then you will get some gift. By making a statement that the party winning the largest seats will get the CM chair, he has asked us to study hard, therefore there is healthy competition among the MVA alliance partners to get the highest number of seats. We are happy and each one will try to get good marks in the exam.There is also a buzz that if the MVA gets a majority, you as the seniormost Congress leader and acceptable face to all alliance partners can emerge as the CM face.Let me make this clear because this question has been repeatedly asked to me. I’m not at all in the race for the chief ministerial post. The main priority for me and the Congress and MVA is to defeat the BJP and its alliance Mahayuti in the state polls first, then later think about other things once we get into power. This election is very important because it will decide the future of the state and country. And Maharashtra is the state that gives the direction as to which way the country is heading. The country is already in trouble, the economy is down and independent institutions are compromised. Democracy is in danger. So, the bigger goal is to defeat the BJP and its alliance.But what about the Ladli Bahena scheme that the Mahayuti is saying will be a game changer in the state polls?One should see why and when the Ladli Bahena scheme was launched. The BJP’s tally in the Lok Sabha dropped from 23 to nine while the NDA tally fell from 42 to 17 in Maharashtra. Therefore as a desperate corrective measure, they brought this scheme where needy and poor women will get Rs 1500 per month. On the other hand, we in the Congress and MVA are offering Rs 3000 per month under the Bhagya Laxmi scheme. Besides, we are also waiving farmers’ loans and have promised to start recruitment in the government. 2.5 lakh posts are vacant in the state government. Jobs are there but the incumbent government failed to give the jobs to unemployed youths. Most of the industry and jobs are taken away to Gujarat.How do you see the BJP’s slogan U-turn from ‘Batenge toh katenge’ to ‘Ek hai toh safe hai’?The BJP is a party that uses the easiest way to win elections, which is taking a communal line. Elections should be fought on development issues, not divisive politics. People and mostly youths are fed up with the divisive agenda of the BJP. It has not given unemployed and skilled youths jobs but wants their votes on a communal agenda by destroying their career. Youths are very smart and very much connected to social media and they understand the reality. Therefore, in this election, youths are going to play a major role. What about Ajit Pawar who also opposed this divisive slogan?Ajit Pawar did oppose divisive slogans but the reality is that he is with a divisive party and thereby helping them. Therefore, people should also keep a distance from Ajit Pawar whose politics directly and indirectly helps a communal party like the BJP. Besides, people of Maharashtra, mostly elderly people, have not liked the way he broke away from his 84-year-old uncle Sharad Pawar. He not only broke the party but snatched the party that was founded by his uncle and the symbol as well. Our culture is different, we do not disrespect elders, we respect and honour them. Therefore, like in the Lok Sabha election, in the state polls also, Ajit Pawar will suffer a big blow.What is your view about deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who was earlier demoted from CM to Deputy CM? Now BJP leader Amit Shah has said the people want to make Fadnavis victorious.Let me be frank, the central leaders of the BJP spoiled the career of Devendra Fadnavis and his image as well. They forced him to do many things that were against the interest of Maharashtra and Fadnavis got an anti-Maharashtra image because of the Delhi leadership. They first made him chief minister. They tied his hands and ruled the state from Delhi. Later he was asked to sacrifice his power to Eknath Shinde and was demoted from CM to DCM. Now, he is grappling in the dark with his future remaining bleak and uncertain. And his conduct of punching above his political weight has also not gone down well with the people. He did it at the behest of his bosses, but it has spoiled his image and protected his bosses. My friendly advice to him, he should stop listening to his party leaders who are more interested in destroying his leadership than elevating him. They care more about them, not him. What do you think of Eknath Shinde’s performance as chief minister of Maharashtra?Eknath Shinde as chief minister has done so many wrong things on the instructions of top BJP leaders. Today, he has power so nothing will happen. Once he steps down from power, all things will come out in the public domain such as how the projects were passed illegally without following proper guidelines. There are several irregularities done while implementing schemes, escalating the cost of the projects. But after losing power, once the inquiry starts, Shinde’s scam files will surface in the public domain. The BJP will then raise its hand and distance itself from him. So, Shinde will have to face everything and whenever history is written, his era will be written in a dark pen.What about Amit Shah? How do you see his rallies and the response in the elections?My personal observation is that Shah came to Maharashtra not to campaign but to threaten the people and leaders of his own party and alliance partners. His speeches say that if you do not vote for them, then this will and that will happen. On the other hand, people of Maharashtra do not like anyone threatening them. Shah may have silenced his party and alliance leaders by threatening them, but will not succeed in silencing the people of Maharashtra.Finally, what about PM Narendra Modi who has been extensively campaigning in Maharashtra?We have seen in the Lok Sabha elections that the Modi magic is already over. Earlier, people used to say Modi hai to mumkin hai, which means Modi can change any scenario. But this is not true anymore. During the Lok Sabha polls, Modi campaigned in 17 seats and did one road show. But the BJP lost the majority of the seats and also the seat where Modi held a road show. So Modi is no more a factor in this election as well. If you check the viral videos of Modi and Amit Shah’s rallies, there is no organic crowd cheering at all. Only the party people who sit in the first row clap to his speeches, the real audience is always at the back. If they clap, then your rally is successful, but in Modi’s rallies the last row starts leaving the rally before he finishes his speech. This is a major and authentic indicator of Modi’s popularity.
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