The former president and senior leader of BJP, Rajnath Singh has carved a niche for himself in Indian politics. Known for his diligence and integrity and a down-to-earth man, Shri Singh is liked by both his supporters and opponents and has a large fan following in all sections of society. In an exclusive interview to Uday India, he spoke on various issues relating to elections in five states. Excerpts:
How would the BJP perform in elections in five states’ assemblies?
Well, I feel the BJP is going to form the government in four states, barring Manipur.
In which state, out of the four states, will the party win the maximum number of seats?
This cannot be said as yet. But we are endeavouring to win all elections in all the four states.
There is the BJP government in Uttarakhand. What do you think about the party’s performance there?
The BJP government has done well in Uttarakhand—whether there was the Nishank-led government or the Khanduri-led government. In fact, the Khanduri government, in a short period of time, has been able to earn kudos from all strata of society for fulfilling the expectations of the common man.
But the party removed Nishank...
Nishank was not charged with any corruption charges. But political parties take different decisions under a strategy and his removal from chief ministership can be termed as a strategic decision.
Recently there was a bit of news that Nishak had a backdoor alliance with the Congress...
No, no. This is entirely an unfounded allegation. He is working for the BJP with all his might.
The party had to change two Chief Ministers in the state in the last five years. Don’t you think it would affect the party’s prospect?
No, this would not affect party’s prospects in the state. As regards the changes, these were because of the conditions then prevalent in the state—earlier it was the Lok Sabha election result—then people wanted a change—and afterwards, the prevailing situation necessitated bringing back Khanduri.
Do you think the BJP would be able to win the election by projecting Khanduri?
Yes, as under his stewardship, the state has treaded the path of development. Also there are other leaders such as Koshyari and Nishank.
If the BJP wins election in Uttarakhand, then who will be the Chief Ministerial candidate?
It is quite evident that BC Khanduri will be the Chief Minister.
If we talk of Uttar Pradesh, which is your home state and where you are a very senior leader, are you the Chief Minister candidate? If not then what would be your role?
I will discharge my duty diligently but I am not the Chief Minister candidate.
Don’t you think that not declaring the Chief Minister candidate would harm party’s prospects?
No, it would not harm the party’s prospects in any way. Earlier, in Chhattisgarh, the party did not declare the Chief Minister candidate, yet the party won election and formed the government there.
The Party has brought Uma Bharti in UP, who was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Will it not send a negative message to the voters in UP?
She has a long association with UP and has been working there for a long time. Therefore, she is contesting from there.
If the party wins or comes second, then will she be declared the Chief Minister candidate or legislative party leader respectively?
Officially, in this regard, only our party president can say something. However, Uma Bharti has not staked her claim in this regard, nor has she shown her such desire.
What would you say about the remark made by Rahul Gandhi on Uma Bharti?
He should not have made the remark that Ms Bharti was an outsider, given the fact that her mother is a naturalised citizen. He should have refrained from it.
In UP, elections are fought basically on caste combination...
No, this factor is not confined merely to UP, it applies to the entire country. But the BJP does not take any decision on the basis of caste or creed. Rather the party always takes into consideration the fact that all sections of society are given an appropriate representation.
But in this election, the caste factor is ubiquitous. Then how can the party claim that it can win?
People have watched the performances of the BJP, SP and BSP governments in the state and are watching that of the Congress government at the Centre. Naturally, they will evaluate all these performances and will come to the conclusion that the only party that provides good governance is the BJP. The BJP government worked for the all-round development and uplift of the common man, whereas during the regimes of the SP and the BSP, the situation of law and order deteriorated from bad to worse and the state witnessed no developmental projects with corruption being rife.
What is BJP’s strategy to win the election in Uttar Pradesh?
We will give a good government, which will work for the all-round development of the state, which will chalk out policies to eradicate poverty and unemployment, and which will solve the problems that farmers and business community are afflicted with.
You opposed the Muslim reservation...
Yes we opposed it. For, we believe that it is not in accordance with the Constitutional provision to grant reservation on the basis of religion. This is like breaking the system and when the system breaks, the country too breaks up. In this regard, I would like to mention the formula that I suggested during the regime of my government in UP. I divided the Backward Classes into three categories—Backward Classes, more Backward Classes and the most Backward Classes. In the category of the most Backward Classes, I not only included the most Backward Classes from Hindus but also from the Muslims and made provision of 14.5 per cent reservation for them. This was praised by the students of Aligarh Muslim University and they emphasised that this Rajnath formula should be implemented.
The Chief Election Commission recently ordered to cover the statues of Mayawati and that of BSP’s election symbol. What is your comment?
Yes, it was sheer wastage of money by the BSP. Through this huge amount of money lakhs of employment opportunities could have been generated and a huge subsidy granted for farmers.
The BJP always raised the issue of tainted ministers. But the BJP too has fielded tainted candidates in UP.
No it is not true, as we took utter care while selecting the candidates.
How do you see the Congress move of bringing Priyanka for campaigning in UP?
It is its internal affair and it can bring anyone for campaigning we have no objection, even though, she is not in active politics.
How many seats, according to you, the BJP will win in UP?
We will win as many seats as are required to form a majority government.
What is your take on Punjab?
In Punjab, the SAD-BJP alliance is going to form the government. Also in Uttarakhand and Goa, the BJP will form the government.
By Deepak Kumar Rath
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