MVA to get majority in Maharashtra, won't need crossovers: Chennithala

Congress' Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday asserted the MVA will get a "clear majority" on its own and there would not be any need for anyone to crossover from the other side.

He also claimed that the ruling Mahayuti was plagued by "internal dissensions" with the BJP looking to "finish off" allies.

In an interview with PTI, Chennithala also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'ek rahoge toh safe rahoge' and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'batenge toh katenge' slogans have "failed" as they were against the ethos and culture of Maharashtra.

He also asserted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SCP), was absolutely united and there would not be any problem in deciding on the chief minister's post after the elections.

 

Chennithala, however, questioned why the Mahayuti had not declared Eknath Shinde as the CM face despite him being the incumbent.

On Modi's 'ek rahoge toh safe rahoge' and Adityanath's 'batenge toh katenge' slogans, he pointed out that even Mahayuti leaders such as NCP's Ajit Pawar and BJP leader Pankaja Munde have also opposed it.

"Even the UP deputy CM has opposed (Adityanath's slogan). So a large number of people have opposed it. It is against the ethos and culture of Maharashtra. People don't like it. Prime Minister Modi's slogan has also not gone down well with the people," Chennithala claimed.

He alleged the prime minister and the BJP are dividing people on communal lines.

"They always talk about Hindu-Muslim, Hindustan-Pakistan, Kabristan-Shamshan. People don't like it. Their two slogans have failed and people are not taking it seriously," the Congress general secretary told PTI.

Asked whether cracks were being seen in the ruling Mahayuti with Ajit Pawar criticising Adityanath's slogan, Chennithala said, "100 per cent. In the PM's rally, his (Ajit Pawar's) absence was very evident, his people also did not go to the Mumbai meeting and the Mumbai meeting of the PM was a big flop."  "There is a big fight among the BJP leaders in Amravati. All these things show that there is disunity in Mahayuti and it will manifest in the elections," he said.

On claims that the Mahayuti could break up post polls, Chennithala said, "Definitely, there are a lot of internal dissensions in Mahayuti. It is a very peculiar situation in the alliance. They (BJP) had given seats to Shinde Shiv Sena but they also gave 13 BJP leaders to fight on Sena symbol."  "They gave Ajit Pawar seats and also 5 BJP leaders to fight on the NCP symbol," he pointed out.

"It is not possible to understand the designs of the BJP. You are giving seats and leaders also. They (BJP) want to finish off their allies which is very evident and that is why there is dissensions within Mahayuti," he said.

On the other hand, Chennithala said the MVA is united there with no friendly fights and 80 per cent of serious rebels have also been persuaded.

The Mahayuti constituents are fighting each other and are having problems everywhere, he claimed.

On whether Ajit Pawar could cross over to the MVA post polls, Chennithala said, "That, I don't think so. We will get a majority on our own. There is no need for crossing over by anybody."  On the MVA not going into polls with a CM face, Chennithala said the Mahayuti must answer why it was not projecting Shinde as the CM despite him being an incumbent.

The Congress never projects a CM beforehand and the MVA will decide on the CM's post after the polls, Chennithala said.

"There won't be any issue, we will sit down and work it out. There will not be any problem," he added.

On whether the party with most seats have the first claim on the CM's post, Chennithala said, "We have not discussed anything about the CM's post, we are focused on dislodging this corrupt government. The most corrupt government in the country is the Mahayuti government."  "You see how much money they are pouring in this election, where did this money come from? MLAs have been bought. It is an unethical government which people will never accept and that will be demonstrated in the polls," he added.

Chennithala also asserted that Haryana, where the Congress recently lost to the BJP, and Maharashtra are totally different and must not be compared.

In Maharashtra, people want a political change, he said.

It has been well demonstrated during the last parliamentary elections when out of 48, the MVA won 31 seats, Chennithala said.

People are fed up with the state government here, he said.

"The way Uddhav ji's government has been toppled and they formed the government with the help of ED and the CBI. This has not been liked by the Maharashtrians. So they are ready to give a befitting reply to them," the Congress leader said.

The MVA will get a "clear majority" to form the government, Chennithala said.

His remarks come as the campaigning for the upcoming voting in Maharashtra on November 20 is in its final leg.

The counting of votes will take place on November 23.