Mumbai, Jan 12 (IANS) Murlidhar Mohol, the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Cooperation and Civil Aviation, on Monday brushed aside any ‘imminent threat’ to the BJP’s poll performance in Maharashtra municipal elections, either from Thackeray brothers’ reunion or the Pawar clan.

Mohol, the Lok Sabha MP from Pune Lok Sabha constituency, spoke to IANS on a range of topics with special focus on the civic polls battle, particularly in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad regions, explaining how both the Shiv Sena and NCP were on a weak footing and the BJP maintains an edge over ‘allies turned foes’.

Below is the full interview:

IANS: Why is the BJP confident about its poll prospects in the Pune Municipal Corporation elections?

Murlidhar Mohol: The people of Pune vote very thoughtfully, whether it is a local body election, an Assembly election, or a Lok Sabha election. We have to make Pune the best city in the world. The people of Pune know that if the city is to see growth and progress, it will only be possible due to the BJP, PM Modi, and Devendra Fadnavis.

IANS: Both factions of NCP have come together for the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations. Do you think this will affect the MahaYuti alliance, particularly in Pune?

Murlidhar Mohol: I don’t think it will have any effect. People in Pune know in whose hands their future stands secured. NCP was contesting separately earlier, now they are together again, tomorrow they will slip again, it goes on.

These (NCP factions) are just regional parties, not national ones. There will be a triple-engine government this time. The public is with us, and a BJP leader will become Pune Mayor.

The agenda for the BJP-Shiv Sena and NCP (Ajit Pawar) in local bodies was different. We saw this in the municipal corporations and municipal councils. Across Maharashtra, we all contested separately, yet we remain united in the state.

IANS: Do you think that the BJP had a role in reuniting both factions of NCP?

Murlidhar Mohol: The fact that both NCP factions have come together clearly means that Ajit Pawar is somewhere or the other afraid that power will not come into his hands, which is why they have joined forces. But today’s public knows who works and who to vote for. The credit does not go to us but to the people of Pune, who believe in us. The public’s trust in us, the BJP played a major role in demoralising their cadres, and hence they have reunited.

IANS: Would it be better for the BJP if the NCP factions unite for the future?

Murlidhar Mohol: See, they are family; if they do come together, I don’t see a problem. It’s their call. Even though one faction is with us in the MahaYuti government, we don’t mind if the families reunite.

IANS: Will it be fine with the BJP if Sharad Pawar is willing to join MahaYuti?

Murlidhar Mohol: I am just a small worker of the party. However, whatever the leadership decides, we will go by it.

IANS: Do you think that the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) joined hands to save the ‘Thackeray brand’? Do you think the ‘Thackeray brand’ still exists?

Murlidhar Mohol: Definitely, I do feel it. Shiv Sena (UBT) has been in power in the BMC for several years now. Despite being in power there, they failed to earn people’s trust. Today, the party itself no longer exists, and neither does the support. Now they have joined hands with the MNS. I feel this is driven by the fear that they might be left with nothing, so the two have come together just to save whatever they can. It’s a fight for their existence.

IANS: Do you think that Uddhav Thackeray abides by the Hindutva ideology of Shiv Sena? He has also said that the MahaYuti betrayed him in the past. What is your take on this?

Murlidhar Mohol: Uddhav Thackeray’s Hindutva is gone. That is why he is left all alone now. He abandoned Hindutva the day he formed a government with the Congress party, after winning the 2019 elections with the BJP.

In 2019, we contested the elections as part of the MahaYuti. If we fought as an alliance, then the government should also have been formed by the alliance. Devendra Fadnavis was our Chief Minister’s face, and clearly, we (the BJP) had the majority. After the elections, he was so obsessed with becoming Chief Minister that he betrayed the Hindus, the BJP and all the 110 million people of Maharashtra.

IANS: There has been a heated ‘Khan-Pathan-burqa’ debate over who will become the Mayor. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has also made several statements regarding this. If a hijab-wearing woman does become the Mayor, what problem does the BJP have with it?

Murlidhar Mohol: We believe in what the public wants. At the end of the day, it all comes down to who the public gives its support to. I do believe, as the Chief Minister has said, that a Marathi-speaking person should become the Mayor, be it in Mumbai, Pune or anywhere else. However, people have their opinions; they can say whatever they want.

IANS: What do you think about the law and order situation in Bengal under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee?

Murlidhar Mohol: TMC has been in power for many years. The law and order issues have been observed for a long time. Now, people feel that enough is enough. How long will we continue to tolerate injustice and oppression?

Apart from this, there is an issue of Bangladeshi infiltrators. So many of the infiltrators are living there. However, I believe that violence is not an option.

The BJP will form a government in Bengal this time, as people are not with Mamata Banerjee at all.

–IANS

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