Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and his deputy, Ajit Pawar, are the “political Agniveers” who will be laid off in three months, Congress leader and AICC in-charge of Maharashtra Ramesh Chennithala said.
“Both Mr. Shinde and Mr. Ajit Pawar, who backstabbed their mentors – Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar – are the ‘political Agniveers’, as their tenure is short-lived without job security akin to the Agniveers recruited [to the armed forces] by the current government. Both leaders will be laid off in the next three months, not by any specific leader or party but by the electorate of Maharashtra,” he said in an interview with The Hindu.
The 67-year-old former Kerala Home Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark, referring to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar as a “wandering soul”, did not sit well with the people of Maharashtra, especially the Maratha community. “He [Mr. Modi] should refrain from such derogatory language, regardless of political differences. Mr. Sharad Pawar is still alive and labelling him as a ‘wandering soul’ is disrespectful, especially considering the PM’s previous acknowledgment of him as a political guru. It appears that Mr. Modi is becoming increasingly agitated, possibly due to the realisation that his return to power is uncertain, and is hence making such remarks,” he said.
‘People waiting to reply’
According to Mr. Chennithala, the political situation in Maharashtra heavily favours the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the coalition comprising the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction and the Congress. People are discontented and are eagerly awaiting an opportunity to respond to the BJP, which they perceive as having damaged the State’s ethos and culture, he said. Despite the effective governance of the constitutionally elected MVA government under Uddhav Thackeray, the government was toppled by engineering a split in the Shiv Sena founded by the late Balasaheb Thackeray, by using Central agencies, he said.
“A few months later they [BJP] conspired another split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and pitted Mr. Ajit Pawar against his uncle and party supremo Mr. Sharad Pawar. This manoeuvring has not been well received by the politically mature people of Maharashtra, who value principles over convenience in politics. PM Modi earlier accused Mr. Ajit Pawar of indulging in a ₹75,000 crore scam. However, days later, he joined hands with the BJP, and subsequently, all charges against him and his family were dropped. Now, he has become the blue-eyed boy of the PM. BJP is a washing machine for corrupt leaders and this perception is widely understood by the people of both his State and the country,” the senior Congress leader said.
He said the BJP’s slogan of ‘Ab ki baar 400 paar’ [400-plus seats this time] is perceived as deceptive, as the saffron party’s chances of getting even 200 seats is in doubt and to compensate for this, it seems to be resorting to divisive politics based on religion and caste.
Losing faith
Asked about the low voter turnout in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha election, Mr. Chennithala said it could be attributed to dissatisfaction with both the Union and State governments, particularly due to divisive politics and unfulfilled promises. “The people’s trust in the current government has dwindled, and Prime Minister Modi’s divisive rhetoric is seen as exacerbating the situation rather than offering solutions. They describe it as a ‘triple-engine sarkar’ in Maharashtra, but it seems to be stalling. Mr. Modi’s rhetoric lacks novelty, and his attempts to discuss our leaders and manifesto come across as campaigning for the Congress,” he said.
Mr. Chennithala also said that Mr. Modi’s recent attempt to raise the topic of “secession” of South India only serves to confuse the public. Such a demand was not discussed by any leader from the southern States, he said.
