Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale spoke to The Sunday Guardian.
Outspoken and forthright, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale has been a part of national politics for over three decades. While the RPI(A) chief works overtime to execute Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Vishwas”, his party is set to serve as a balancing power across Maharashtra and strengthen the NDA’s performance in the parliamentary elections.
Excerpts from an interview with The Sunday Guardian:
Q: How do you expect the NDA to perform in Maharashtra in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections?
A: The Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, the BJP under Devendra Fadnavis, and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar are doing a good job in Maharashtra under the NDA and the rival parties are experiencing jolts. Under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership the NDA is going to sweep Maharashtra and win at least 45 Lok Sabha seats out of 48. The NDA’s bright prospects are the reason why leaders from other parties want to join the alliance. Earlier, Congress leader Milind Deora joined the NDA. Ashok Chavan is the latest leader to desert the Congress and join the BJP. People are realising that there is darkness in the Congress and there is no point in remaining in that party.
Q: What role is your Republican Party of India (A) going to play in the LS elections?
A: Our RPI(A) may be a small party but we have our supporters in all villages of Maharashtra. Our party plays a crucial role of balancing power in elections—we cannot win on all seats on our own, but we can play a role in deciding who will be the victorious party in each seat. So we will continue to strengthen the NDA in Maharashtra and across the country.
Q: The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled later this year, what kind of a performance do you expect from the NDA?
A: The Opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi has lost steam and shape since the last elections and the good performance of the Shinde government will ensure that the NDA will form government of its own by winning a handsome majority out of the 288 seats in the Assembly elections.
Q: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil has been protesting for the cause. How do you see his demands?
A: Jarange’s demand for reservation for the poor among the Marathas is absolutely genuine and we support it. He has been on a fast since 10 February and wants a law to be enacted on the issue, but he must give the state government enough time to fulfil its promise. He should curtail his fast as his health condition is deteriorating.
Q: The Lok Sabha elections can be announced any day now. Do you see NDA facing any challenge from the I.N.D.I Alliance?
A: The unparalleled work done by the Narendra Modi government has won the hearts of every Indian. Be it the Women’s Reservation Bill, abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, quashing of triple talaq, free food for 82 crore people, upliftment of 25 crore people from poverty or honouring B.R. Ambedkar and promoting the underprivileged, Modiji has done immense work for all. The NDA is going to remain in power for at least 50 years and the Congress, which ruled the country for 70 years, has no chance of coming to power at least in the next 4-5 elections. The Opposition tried to mislead the people that Modi will modify the Constitution but since the PM respects the father of the Constitution, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, he never did so. The entire nation is chanting: “Ab ki baar NDA 400 ke paar, aur Congress aur I.N.D.I.A aghadi ki ho jaygi haar.” In 2019, the NDA was not in power in many heartland states and still the alliance won 303 LS seats. This time key states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have been won by the BJP. We are confident that the BJP will get 370 seats and the NDA will cross the 400-seat mark in the parliamentary elections. As for the I.N.D.I.A aghadi, it seems to be gasping for breath. Nitish Kumar and Jayant Chowdhary have already switched flanks, Mamata Banerjee has announced that her TMC will contest on its own in West Bengal and AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal has also announced his plans to fight the elections alone in Punjab. In such a scenario what do you expect from the alliance that is fighting to save its own identity?
Q: How do you see the ongoing agitation by farmers on the Punjab-Haryana border?
A: We respect farmers and the Modi government has always worked for the welfare of the annadata. The farmers have their demands. Talks with the government are going on and I hope a solution will be found soon and the farmers will get justice.
Q: Dalit and Jatav politics has seen Mayawati assume the stature of a national figure and play a prominent role over the past two decades? How do you see BSP perform in the coming LS elections?
A: We respect Mayawatiji as a leader of the underprivileged. But her political base has been slipping over the past decade. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, her party did not win any seat but in 2019 she won 10 seats due to the alliance with the Samajwadi Party. This time, she does not have any understanding with the SP and I don’t think her party is going to have any impact in Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, the NDA is poised to win almost all 80 parliamentary seats in the state.