‘They don’t want Savarkar but Aurangzeb, such has been the change in their ideology’: Eknath Shinde

Responding to a question on the low voter turnout, he said party workers were told not to be complacent and over-confident and work hard for every vote and seat, “Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has also said that don’t be overconfident. Get up and go vote first. People listen to Modiji,” he said.

As he wound up the campaign for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections, Shinde said his party, which got the original Shiv Sena symbol from the Election Commission, was the one taking forward the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray.

“What Balasaheb did not approve of is being taken forward by the other side. Their ideology has changed such that they don’t want Savarkar but Aurangzeb. People will think about it. We are also working on development,” said Shinde, who completes two years in office as the Chief Minister in June.

Taking a dig at Uddhav, who heads the other Sena faction, he said, “We are not sitting idle; you cannot run the state sitting at home, you have to be on the field. So who will they vote for, the one who works, or the one who sits at home or the one who creates obstacles in work?”

Facing a tough battle in the state where issues of Maratha reservation, farmers’ concern around onion and milk prices, and the Dalit community’s worries about changes to the Constitution have taken centrestage, Shinde said these are issues being created by the Opposition as they have no issues to raise.

“We have already given reservation to the Maratha community and people are drawing benefits… It is a matter of perception. When they (the Opposition) realised they were losing the election, they started propagating that the Constitution would be changed. Do you think that the Constitution can be changed? Even the PM has said no one will be able to change the Constitution and people trust him. The Opposition is trying to raise it as it has nothing else to say. The Dalit and backward community understand and I will tell them to remove this from their mind,” Shinde said.

When asked about the fact that Marathas in the Marathwada region are upset with the BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shinde defended BJP.  “The decision was collectively taken by us. So, to be angry with BJP or Devendra ji is not right. When he was the CM last time, I was also on the committee that for the first time did the work of giving reservation to Marathas and defended it in the High Court. After the change of government, it could not stand in the Supreme Court. So, it is the fault of Maha Vikas Aghadi,” he said.