NAGPUR: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that after BJP’s setback in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, he had sought the Sangh’s help to fight ‘anarchists and vote jihadists’ in the assembly elections.
In an exclusive interview to TOI, when asked about his frequent meetings with RSS office-bearers after the Lok Sabha polls and whether the ideological fountain would come to BJP’s rescue in the assembly elections, Fadnavis said: “I am in constant touch with swayamsevaks. Remember, RSS doesn’t overtly work for any political party.”
Fadnavis added that BJP and its allies are not fighting Congress, but the “anarchist and anti-national forces embedded in the grand old party’s machinery. And the Sangh affiliates are aiding us to counter the anarchist narrative”.
This is in sharp contrast with BJP national president J P Nadda’s remarks in May, when he had said: “In the beginning, we would have been less capable, smaller and needed the RSS. Today, we have grown and we are capable. BJP runs itself.” Nadda’s remarks during the course of an interview given before the Lok Sabha polls results had led to speculation that not everything was smooth between BJP and its parent body.
Fadnavis said BJP lost 10 seats in the Lok Sabha polls due to ‘vote jihad‘. He gave the example of the Dhule Lok Sabha seat, where, barring Malegaon, a Muslim-dominated assembly segment, “we were ahead by 1.9 lakh votes. But in Malegaon, MVA secured 1.94 lakh votes and we lost by just 4,000 votes”.
“Fatwas were issued in Almighty’s name to vote against BJP and people were delivered oaths. Now, minorities realise they were misled and used. How many Muslims are there in the Congress candidate list?”
In a blistering attack on Rahul Gandhi, Fadnavis said the leader of the opposition is under the siege of ‘anarchists and urban naxals’. “Rahul is less of a Congressman now. From a communist, he’s turned into a left extremist ideologue. He flaunts the copy of a constitution with a red cover, not the traditional blue.”
Fadnavis said Rahul did BJP’s spadework by smashing his own ‘fake narrative’ in the US, by seeking an end to reservations. “And state Congress president Nana Patole has taken it forward. Both are in fact inadvertently doing BJP’s job.”
He said there was a “sweeping positivity among people for Mahayuti” and added that Ladki Bahin scheme would be a gamechanger as it has generated hope among women. “Also, people witnessed how our govt delivered on promises. We restarted projects like Wainganga-Nalganga river-linking project that would change fortunes of Vidarbha and bring 54-tmc sea water to Marathwada through the water grid project.”