So, will the industrial setback and the law and order situation be your focus for this election?

My focus for the elections is jobs. We are going to create jobs by bringing in new investments, setting up industries, filling vacant government posts.

You have also mentioned law and order. Does this mean your focus of attack will be on the failure of Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis?

I would say the failure of the government as a whole. When our corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar was killed on the Facebook live Fadnavis made an insensitive statement. This is the arrogance of power. This has come from earning huge money through corruption and uncontrolled power.

You have talked about several alleged corruption cases, be it the Dharavi redevelopment issue or industrial failure. How you are going to deal with these if you come to power?

Let us start with Dharavi redevelopment. We are neither against redevelopment nor against any particular industrialist. We are against the way the government has given control of Mumbai’s real estate to one person. Dharavi should have been redeveloped on the same plot of 540 acres. But the State government has allotted another 540 acres of land to Adani. Why? This is illegal. Then there is TDR scam where all the developers of the city will have to buy 40 per cent of the TDR from Dharavi. We are against it. Once we come to power, we will cancel this tender. We will also form a team to investigate the allotments of all plots by this government.

There is a buzz that you have recently said in your party meetings that the MVA government was toppled because powerful people wanted such decisions regarding Mumbai to be taken and you were a hurdle.

I am saying this on record. We would not have allowed this loot to happen. We would not have allowed our Mumbai to be ruled by industrialists in such a brazen way. That is why our government was toppled using all means. We are now seeing an extensive loot of Mumbai be it in real estate or the industry sector.

There is a Maratha reservation protest. How do you see it?

I believe the core of the issue is jobs. People are lacking jobs. So, they believe that reservations is the way out. I agree with their demand. I am saying that we will have to give more and more job opportunities to our young people. We will only then see the changes.

How do you see going an alliance with Congress and NCP for the Assembly election? There was never an electoral alliance between you.

We had supported the Congress’s Presidential candidate Pratibha Patil and later Pranab Mukherjee. So, there was always a cordial relationship between us. Actually, this is what the BJP started in Maharashtra. Otherwise, there would have been no vindictive politics here. What the BJP has done in the last few years is an attack on Maharashtra’s political culture. On Maharashtra’s asmita (pride). Maharashtra’s sanskruti (healthy culture). We have never seen this kind of politics here.

A recent survey done by the Lokniti programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, published by The Hindu, shows that Uddhav Thackeray is the most popular choice for the Chief Minister’s post with 28 per cent acceptance. The incumbent Chief Minister Eknath Shinde came in at 20 per cent. Do you think MVA should announce Uddhav Thackeray as its Chief Ministerial candidate?

I have read this survey. I have also read a similar survey and tracker in recent times. But I take it in a different way. I see it as the love of the people of the State. Uddhav ji as Chief Minister did a fantastic job during the pandemic, and calamities such as the cyclone and landslide. But for us, the priority is to remove this government from the State. We want to bring back Maharashtra on track again. The Chief Minister’s post is not that important.

It is also being said that this is election will decide who the real Shiv Sena is. Do you believe that?

I think people know who the real Shiv Sena is. A thief cannot claim what is not his.

You are attacking the BJP and the Mahayuti. But after the Lok Sabha election, they launched the Ladki Bahin (beloved sister) scheme. They are also pushing other welfare schemes. Don’t you think this is going to affect the election?

The BJP came to power by promising to transfer Rs.15 lakh to each person’s account. After 10 years of power, they are transferring Rs.1,500. But their industrialist friends are getting Rs.1 lakh crore. I have also heard from somebody in the BJP that after the election, if they win, they will pull down the Ladki Bahin scheme. But if we come to power, we will increase the amount.

BJP leaders often bring up another issue in their campaign speeches: Muslims voting en bloc for MVA. BJP leaders are calling it “Vote Jihad”. How do you see this?

If Muslims voting for us is Vote Jihad, then what kind of jihad is Prime Minister Modi hugging Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan? What happens when the RSS chief visits a dargah? What is wrong with Muslims voting for us? They are citizens of India and have a right to vote for whoever they want to.

There is a criticism that you have given only one ticket to a Muslim. You want their votes but have not given them representation.

Our party never gives candidature on the lines of caste, religion and other identities. We only see acceptance among workers and the possibility of a candidate winning a particular constituency. Haroon Khan, our Muslim candidate in Versova has been working with the Shiv Sena for a long time. He is popular in Versova among all castes and religions. We have given him a ticket for his work and not for his religion.

So, where do you see the MVA in the final results?

An absolute, clean majority for MVA for sure. Because people know that what Maharashtra needs today is a clean, strong and trustworthy government. A government that will not compromise on the interests of the State.