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    If a leader blocks our way, I would prefer not to work under such a person: Ajit Pawar, NCP Leader

    Synopsis

    If the leader keeps saying that he will do certain thing and then does not do it deliberately to block our way for months together, then we have a problem with that.

    ET Bureau
    Maharashtra’s Deputy CM and the second-most powerful leader in the NCP, Ajit Pawar, has been very vocal against alliance partner Congress, as well as CM Prithviraj Chavan in the recent past. He has been insisting his party should get to contest 50% (144) seats in the upcoming assembly polls . Ajit spoke in detail about alliance and other issues in a interview with Rohit Chandavarkar. Excerpts:

    You have been aggressively demanding 50% seats for your party and despite your party president Sharad Pawar’s statement that alliance with Congress is almost certain, you have been insisting that it is not sealed yet. Why is that?

    There have been some rounds of talks with the Congress and we have not reached any conclusion. I believe that it’s time for all four major political parties of Maharashtra to fight independently. We have been in an alliance and in power for 15 years. But overall experience shows that a government run by a single party would function in a much better manner. We can deliver development to the people if a single party government comes to power in Maharashtra.There is no reason for us to climb down from the demand of contesting 144 seats.

    How can a single party fight the assembly elections when no party has presence spread across the state?

    Coalition seems to be a necessity. That’s not true. Look at Lok Sabha polls. Everybody kept saying that a multiparty government is inevitable and coalition politics is the future of this country.

    But people from all over India decided that they have had enough of coalitions at the Centre and decided to give a clear mandate to Narendra Modi. Nobody had imagined that virtually a single party government would come to power at the Centre. If this can happen nationally, why can’t the same thing happen in the state.

    Can political parties manage to fight alone in a big state like Maharashtra?

    It is difficult for a single political party in this state to effectively contest in all 288 constituencies.

    However, many times alliance partners end-up working against each other in order to ensure that they are the largest party in the house. Wherever they are together in the local self-government establishment ( district councils or municipalities) sharing power, we may not have a problem but when they have rivalry in the local self governments it reflects in the assembly constituency. In such cases, it’s better to not have an alliance. We have seen this repeatedly in places like Osmanabad and Chandrapur.

    Your cold war with the CM is now out in the open. He openly said that he would have preferred to bring an IAS officer in NCP controlled PWD ministry. How do you react ?

    We have no problem with any IAS cadre officer being brought into any department. We even insisted that in Social Welfare Ministry now that the budget is over Rs 6000 crore, we should have an IAS officer as secretary. Its not about any such one issue but I feel that the leader should be open about what he can do and what he can’t. If the leader keeps saying that he will do certain thing and then does not do it deliberately to block our way for months together, then we have a problem with that. I would prefer not to work under such a leader again in the future.

    Road toll is a big issue in Maharashtra. You spoke about it clearly in the recent rally at Kolhapur. You said toll in some places will be withdrawn in 100 days if you return to power. How will the resentment over road-toll reflect in the polls?

    It is a complex issue. As a policy, we decided to raise funds for roads from private sector and then get into contracts with private players for recovery of the cost. So toll can not be abolished all together but I had suggested certain ways out. There has been a lot of resistance over the Kharghar toll plaza (in Navi Mumbai). I had suggested that CIDCO give Rs 1000 crore, MMRDA should put in Rs 200 crore and cancel this toll. This was discussed in the state cabinet but it just kept lingering and no final decision was taken by the head of the government (Chief Minister). It’s a different issue in Kolhapur, the state government is not involved in the toll there yet there are some workable solutions.

    There have been many defections of known leaders from the NCP to BJP and Shiv Sena. How do you react?

    This is a pattern which we have seen earlier. There is a group of leaders that shifts during every election towards the party that they think will come to power. We now see a trend of parties welcoming certain people who they think are likely to win, without thinking about ideology or candidates history. This is a trend that is there to stay.
    The Economic Times

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