Bhopal: Unfazed by the exodus of Congress leaders and workers to the BJP, Madhya Pradesh PCC chief Jitu Patwari maintains that the grand old party is set to put up a strong performance in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. "We are hopeful to win at least 15 out of 29 seats in MP (sic)," he says. Talking exclusively to DH, Patwari spoke on a wide range of issues including the migration of senior party leaders and workers to the BJP. Recently Kamal Nath's close aid and MLA from Amarwada, Kamlesh Shah, also resigned as legislator, following which he quit the Congress and joined BJP.
What is the reason behind the exodus of Congress leaders/workers to the BJP?
Patwari attributed the reason to BJP’s coercive, dictatorial tactics and arrogance.
"One has to look into the background of leaders who left the party, such as Sanjay Shukla, Jabalpur Mayor Jagat Bahadur Singh alias Annu, Madhvi Shah (wife of Kamlesh Shah), Suresh Pachori and so on. They were facing heat from investigative agencies because of their alleged wrongdoings and (they) joined the BJP only as a cover-up tactics. They (who left the party) were not ideologically aligned with the Congress. So it is a usual phenomenon in politics and Congress is not dented in any way (by their leaving).
But the message that goes out is anti-Congress. People think it is either a divided house or is irrelevant.
No doubt, a section of society may think like it. But at the same time people are intelligent enough to understand and analyze the situation. Actually BJP wants a unipolar party rule and to do politics without any opposition. Ironically, leaders such as Ashok Chavan, Ajit Pawar, Narayan Rane whom the BJP criticized tooth and nail for alleged corruption, are now with the BJP. Out of 154 prominent leaders facing heat from investigating agencies, 121 have joined BJP. While others who did not join are either behind bars or confronting ED/ agencies such as Kejriwal, Shibu Soren. We are duty-bound to expose the BJP's wrongdoings. Media should also take cognisance of the matter.
How will the Congress fare in the upcoming elections, both in the state and nationally?
We are confident of winning at least 15 seats in the state (MP has 29 LS seats). We are the main opposition party at the Centre. Congress is a nationalist party which believes in upholding democratic, constitutional, socio-political values. With this objective, our leader Rahul Gandhi had launched a padyatra across the length and breadth (of the country) to cover a distance of 4,000 km. The aim was to promote secular values and harmony as a counter to hatred etc.
BJP says MP will see a clean sweep, with the saffron party winning 29/29 seats in the state.
Yes, they are claiming of winning 29 seats in MP and 400 seats nationally. What is the reason for ‘abki baar 400 ke paar’ sloganeering by Modi ji? It is because they want to change/amend the constitution. They want to demean the power of vote. They want control over social harmony, economic reservation. BJP Member of Parliament Hegde, who coined the idea of 2/3 majority, has been given ticket again. It clearly shows the BJP is aiming for an authoritarian regime. But this will not happen, and Congress will gain substantially in the state. In the recently concluded assembly elections Congress recorded more votes share in at least 11 LS seats and were very close in another 5 seats. So, in all we are confident of winning 15 LS seats in 2024.
Why was there a delay on the Congess' end in declaring candidates?
No, there is no delay, actually it is part of our strategy to give tickets to deserving candidates. We have taken into account all the factors in deciding candidates. There was not a single voice of dissent after declaring candidates.