Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi – TheNewsHub

Mumbai is being looted under the BJP’s rule: Varsha Gaikwad

Aseem — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 16:23:44 +0000

The MP says that the people of Maharashtra know that the Mahayuti government won’t provide employment opportunities.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

The Mumbai Congress chief and Member of Parliament, Varsha Gaikwad speaks to Frontline about the issues facing the city, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi campaign’s focus for the upcoming State Assembly election, and how this election will determine ideological perspectives. Gaikwad also discusses the rampant unemployment in the State, the Dharavi redevelopment project, the MVA’s alliance partners, and more.

The people of Mumbai see the current multi-cornered political fight as a mess. How do you view the current situation?

Yes, it is a multi-cornered battle on the EVM [electronic voting machine]. But on the ground, the fight is clearly between the MVA and Mahayuti. I am sure that the people are with the MVA.

During the Lok Sabha election, the MVA enjoyed a lead in 24 out of the 36 Assembly seats. Do you think this will be seen again?

I think it will be more. Today you will not believe me, but we will win more seats than we won during the general election.

Also Read | We’re Ahead by 2 Lakh Votes in Mumbai: BJP’s Ashish Shelar on Dharavi, Development, & Elections

Why do you think so? The BJP-led Mahayuti is a formidable alliance, full of resources. In such a case, why do you think you will have a big lead in Mumbai?

The ground-level issues are the reason for this confidence. The industries are being shifted out of Mumbai, women are feeling insecure, and there is no law and order in the city. We have seen how a former Minister and former corporator were killed in the city. There is huge inflation and unemployment. I think people know who is responsible for this and that’s why they will vote for us.

You said industries are going out of the city. The BJP is rejecting these charges. Could you elaborate?

A financial centre was supposed to be built in Mumbai but that shifted to Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Mumbai is the diamond capital of India, but the diamond bourse shifted to Surat. The headquarters of the Coastal Guard was shifted to Gujarat. Foxconn Vedanta was a big project which was supposed to come to Maharashtra but it was taken to Gujarat. They also poached our MLAs and took them to Surat. People see what is happening and that’s why they are against it.

Are you suggesting that the BJP’s rule is diminishing Mumbai’s importance?

Along with being diminished, Mumbai is being looted under the BJP’s rule. The way this government is deciding to handover Mumbai to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s friend is atrocious.

Whom are you talking about?

I am talking about the Dharavi redevelopment project (DRP). [Gautam] Adani is PM Modi’s friend. The Maharashtra government is providing 1,000 acres of Mumbai’s land to Adani for the project. I was MLA of Dharavi for three terms; this kind of development is not desired. This is just a reason to loot Mumbai.

But the BJP has said that the tender, won by Adani, was designed when MVA was in power, that is when Uddhav Thackeray was Chief Minister. You were a Member of his Cabinet.

Changes were made in the tender after our government was toppled. The new tender is faulty. Providing land pockets of Mumbai for redevelopment was not a part of our tender. We want rehabilitation in Dharavi. This government has brought this clause which I am against. Recently, people of Malvani, Malad told me that they don’t want another Dharavi in their area. The people of Dharavi don’t wish to leave. So why does the State government want us to transfer to Deonar dumping ground and Vikhroli salt pan land? I have a simple solution for it. If Adani wants to develop Deonar, let him. But he shouldn’t bring Dharavi into it.

If you come to power, how do you plan to stop this alleged looting?

We will cancel this tender. All the land which is given to DRP will be taken back. We will protect the rights of Dharavi citizens as well as Mumbai’s land and environment.

Are all members of the MVA in agreement over this?

Yes, we all are on same page about this issue.

You also talked about unemployment. People across the country come to Mumbai to find employment. And you say unemployment is an issue here.

People come to Mumbai with hope. That doesn’t mean they are finding jobs here. Also, there is no job security. Private companies are not hiring and small-scale industries are affected. This means there are no more unorganised jobs in the city. That is why unemployment is a big issue here.

In this case, how are you going to provide them with jobs?

We will help small-scale industries grow through incentives from the State government. This will generate jobs. People also know that the Mahayuti government won’t provide employment opportunities.

Also Read | I would say ‘absolute majority’ for the Mahayuti: Sunil Tatkare

Ladki Bahin Yojna (beloved sister) has been a main part of Mahayuti’s campaign. How do you see it? Is the scheme a gamechanger?

Not at all. Wherever I go, I ask women one question: Is Rs. 1,500 sufficient? The response is “no”. They want to work and earn. The scheme is not enough to ensure women’s survival. There is also the issue of their security as a woman, in Mumbai, is at risk of being raped every day. This must end.

Another issue that the BJP is pushing is vote jihad. Leaders such as Kirit Somaiya, Ashish Shelar, and Devendra Fadnavis are talking about it.

That is because they have nothing to show. This is a habit of the BJP. They are Manuvadi. They come from an organisation which refused to accept tricolour as part of the national flag. Spreading hatred is the only thing they do. This is why our leader Rahul Gandhi keeps saying that this is a battle between ideologies. We spread love and they spread hate. People must choose what they want.

You are contesting an Assembly election in alliance with Shiv Sena for the first time. Do you think the party workers and voters have accepted this alliance? And is it helping you in Mumbai?

The party workers and the people of Maharashtra have accepted this alliance. The Shiv Sena and the Congress have always had equal power in Mumbai. I would say it is beneficial to both parties. This will only help us win the election.

Maharashtra Assembly election: Is Mahayuti back in the game?

Aseem — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 13:55:06 +0000

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis during the press conference where Mahayuti leaders presented the ‘report card’ of their work in Mumbai. October 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Maharashtra, known locally as Mahayuti, consists of three major partners: the BJP, Shiv Sena (led by Eknath Shinde), and Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Despite commanding the support of 210 MLAs out of 288 in the Assembly, the Mahayuti leaders’ confidence was shaken on June 4. In the Lok Sabha election, they managed to win only 17 out of 48 seats in the State. The opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), operating with limited resources and without strong or influential leaders, secured 30 seats, and one independent candidate later pledged support to the Congress, bringing their total to 31.

This result was a warning bell for Mahayuti. Recognising that maintaining “business as usual” could lead to similar results in the Assembly election, the leaders initiated a micro-analysis of the results. This detailed examination revealed a more nuanced picture beyond the headline figures.

Also Read | Maharashtra: A decisive rejection of revolving-door politics and communal rhetoric

First, the Assembly-wise leads were very close. The MVA, despite winning 31 seats, was leading with only 154 seats. Whereas the Mahayuti was leading with 127 seats. In the Assembly of 288, where the halfway mark is 144, the lead on 154 seats was not strong. Mahayuti leaders started working on these seats. Here they found that 60 seats out of 154 were coming from the cotton, soyabean and onion belt. As prices of these agriculture produces crashed, the anger reflected in the Lok Sabha election results. So, to pacify the furious farmers, the NDA came up with a three-point strategy. In an additional State budget presented on June 28, the government decided to waive electricity bills of 44 lakh farmers. Farmers using 7.5 horsepower pump will not get the electricity bills. In Vidarbha and Marathwada, where most farmers use 5 hp pumps, this was a big announcement.

The second announcement regarding farmers came in September. Soyabean and cotton farmers were agitating against the fall in prices. So, they were given Rs.5,000 per hectareto bridge the gap between the MSP and market price. Almost 65 lakh farmers received Rs.2500 crore in this scheme. For onion farmers, export duty was removed by the Central government. This is expected to increase onion prices next season.

NDA also faced a backlash in Lok Sabha for allegedly compromising Maharashtra’s interests and favouring Gujarat. The proposed mega manufacturing projects such as a pharma hub, Foxconn-Vedanta’s semiconductor plant, was shifted out of Maharashtra. Many other industries such as automobiles were already relocating their plants from Pune to Gujarat.

Understanding the need to address this, the State government ran a mega show. They invited Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to Mumbai. Here, the Maharashtra government signed an MoU with WEF to make the Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s economy worth $300 billion. Schwab also promised to help Mumbai grow as a financial centre to international levels. Before this, in July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Mumbai. He said he wanted Mumbai to be the centre of global financial activity. All these were attempts to wipe out the anti-Maharashtra image of BJP from the minds of the State’s voters.

A hat-tip to Marathi

Marathi voters have for long also appealed for a classical status accorded to the Marathi language. The proposal was submitted to the Center in 2013. Since then, the demand has been in cold storage. But ahead of the State Assembly election, the Union government accepted the proposal and granted the language classical status. This would help BJP, especially in its campaign against Uddhav Thackeray.

Women voters opposed the Modi-led government in the Lok Sabha. To address this, the State government came up with a most ambitious ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme. Through this, Rs.1,500 per month is being given to 1.85 crore women across the State. Maharashtra has 4.6 crore women voters: this scheme covers almost 40 per cent of them. Mahayuti leaders feel that this scheme would be the game-changer in the upcoming Assembly election. It is also seen that the opposition was confused to react on the scheme from day one. Now there is pressure on the opposition to announce something similar to women voters. The State government also urged the Centre to include 12 smaller castes into Other Backward Classes.

Also Read | Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin scheme: Great expectations?

After Lok Sabha results, the State government faced two major instances of public outrage. One was the protest against the Badlapur school girls sexual abuse case. The second was over the falling of Shivaji’s statue in Malwan. The State government has issued a tender to build a bigger statue on the same place. Modi himself apologised for the incident.

The major challenge the BJP faced in the Lok Sabha was the Maratha reservation protest. It cost the BJP the entire region of Marathwada. The party has since adopted a two-pronged strategy. BJP leaders have gone aggressive against Manoj Jarange Patil, a leader of the Maratha reservation protest. At the same time, the party has reportedly provided all resources to the OBC protest in the State. Laxman Hake, the leader of the OBC community, protested the inclusion of the Maratha community in the OBC category. So, efforts to consolidate all non-Maratha Hindu communities are on.

The election was very close in terms of the total votes and the vote share. MVA’s vote share in the Lok Sabha election was 43.71 per cent, while Mahayuti’s was 43.55 per cent. The votes cast for the MVA was 2,50,15,819, and 2,48,12,627 for Mahayuti. The micro-managed strategies and the huge resources being used could indeed tilt the balance in favour of Mahayuti, and the coming month will show whether these calculated moves can transform their 17-seat Lok Sabha performance into a decisive Assembly victory, or if the MVA’s unexpected surge will continue.