'When voter personally benefits, they understand who will help them in long run,' says BJP's Raosaheb Danve Patil

Days after registering an exceptional win, the BJP seems to be in the middle of a quandary in Maharashtra with regards to the chief ministerial face. However, the party’s poll coordinator and former state chief Raosaheb Danve Patil, in an interview with DH’s Amrita Madhukalya says that it is now a matter of days and the government will be formed by December 2. Edited excerpts:

The BJP’s results in Maharashtra have been better than what was expected or what the exit polls had predicted. Did you expect this tally?

In 2019, Uddhav Thackeray came to power and ran the government for 2.5 years. And then the BJP’s alliance Mahayuti came to power and we ran the state for 2.5 years. The voters compared both these governments and they saw what each government did for them. They saw how during the tenure of Uddhav Thackeray, not a single scheme benefitted them. After we came to power, we gave them a waiver in electricity bills, and gave them electricity in 90% subsidy. And, we bought in the Ladki Behna Yojana for the women. Our government invested in farmers and in people who need to run houses. When the voter personally benefits, they understand who will help them in the long run. That’s why we were voted to power. We were sure that we would have a majority, but we were not sure of the absolute numbers but we were sure we will form the government without any hiccough.

Parliament today celebrated the 75th year of the Constitution. But it was the charge that the BJP will change the Constitution which cost BJP dearly in Maharashtra a few months ago in the Lok Sabha elections. How did you convince the voter?

The BJP’s war cry in the 2024 elections was ‘ab ki baar, 400 paar’. Is it not possible for a party which had 2 MPs in Lok Sabha in 1984 that went on to become 302 in 2019 to aim to have more than 400 MPs in 2024? The Congress then ran this narrative that we will change the Constitution if we indeed cross 400 MPs. The truth is that the Congress has changed the Constitution 72 times when it was in power. And if there was a time when the Constitution was insulted, it was during the Emergency – first they declared it, then they took the President’s nod and then informed the Cabinet. After that, they put all the Opposition leaders in jail. Where did their respect for the Constitution go then? Unfortunately, some people were convinced by Congress’s narrative and it worked for one election. Then voters realised it was a fake narrative. In elections, you can confuse or convince; Congress confused the voter. But now, we convinced the voter.

Do you feel that the BJP’s exceptional result is now leading to delay in government formation in Maharashtra?

There is not a specific delay with government formation. Each party is doing its own discussions – each party in Mahayuti is electing its own party leader and MLAs are going to their constituencies to get a sense of what the people want. All the leaders will convene in Mumbai, discuss and then a leader will be chosen and the government will be formed.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the RSS was touted to be angry with the BJP. But after the results, the RSS seemed to have lent a helping hand in Haryana and now in Maharashtra. How have they helped you?

The Sangh itself does not come out to do prachaar (campaign) for the BJP. They do not do sabha or baithaks (gatherings). They are our margdarshaks (guiding lights).

After the results, there has been a report suggesting that the financial feasibility of Ladki Behna Yojana is tough. Is there a problem?

The charge has been against the BJP, a party which has announced financial help for women. But in the Lok Sabha, when Rahul Gandhi said ‘khata-khat’ and promised Rs 3000, where was the money going to come from? We started giving the Rs 1500 we promised but they promised Rs 3000 and no one questioned them. This is wrong, we have the money and we will make the provision in the Budget and for five whole years, this scheme will run.

By when will the Maharashtra government be formed?

Before December 2.

Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Jharkhand Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Bypoll 2024 results | Check Karnataka results here

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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