National Communist Party leader Ajit Pawar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has stepped up its campaign in the Maharashtra Assembly elections with the slogan “Batenga to Katenga”. However, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, an alliance partner of the BJP, strongly opposed the slogan. Ajit Pawar said that using this slogan in the name of Hindu unity will not work in Maharashtra, I do not support this slogan, it will not work in Maharashtra. He further said that we are working together in Mahayut but the ideology of our parties is different and maybe this will work in other states but not in Maharashtra.
He said development is most important for Maharashtra and we need to focus on that. The slogan may be valid in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand or some other places, but the politics and culture of Maharashtra are different, he said.
Shivaji,Shahu Ji,Phule Ka Rajya-Ajit Pawar
Ajit Pawar said Maharashtra is the state of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj and Mahatma Phule , community harmony has always been a priority here. The BJP first adopted the slogan based on statements made by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the context of anti-Hindu violence in Bengal. Ajit Pawar said RSS and BJP leaders supported the slogan and were promoting it during the Maharashtra election campaign. He said the slogan was repeated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leader Devender at recent election rallies in Maharashtra Ra Fadnavis also adopted this slogan at the rally.
Why did Ajit Pawar cut corners?
In the current assembly elections, Ajit Pawar gave his party’s votes to Nawab Malik, Hasan Mushrif, Sanna ·Muslim candidates such as Sanna Malik and Zeeshan Malik, son of Baba Siddiqui. Moreover, the Muslim vote plays an important role for his party in Maharashtra. In this case, minority voters could support the slogan. Earlier, the BJP made a public statement on Nawab Malik’s candidature.
Voting will be held in phases in Maharashtra on November 20. In this election, the grand alliance includes the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP. They will contest from Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s NCP and Congress. Counting will take place on November 23.