Pankaja Munde: ‘Rebellion will hurt the prospects of both Mahayuti and MVA… but we have managed to curb most of it’

Six months after her Lok Sabha loss, Pankaja speaks to The Indian Express about the road ahead for her, and the Mahayuti’s prospects in Maharashtra. Excerpts:

For the first time in a decade, you are not contesting an election. How has the response been while campaigning for other candidates?

I do not feel like I am not the candidate as I am appealing for votes in several constituencies. In fact, I had been looking forward to this role for several years and taking up organisational responsibility. I am getting a huge response wherever I campaign. I can sense it.

Has the situation changed in Parli after the Lok Sabha election?

While I am sure we will win Parli and all other Assembly seats in Beed district, I am focusing on all seats of the state. I do not think about the past and rather focus on the future. Despite such a terrible condition, I lost the Lok Sabha poll by a margin of only 6,000 votes. So, technically I won.

Yes, the situation has changed but for the better. It has changed to the extent that we will retain power. Fake narratives are no more there and people are not going to vote merely to defeat someone. They know only good people will undertake development and want a state government which will work in tandem with the Narendra Modi government.

How do you see the ‘batenge toh katenge’ narrative that has entered the political discourse in Maharashtra?

Frankly, my politics is different. I will not support it just because I belong to the party. I believe that we should work on development and there is no need to bring such topics into the state. Modiji has given justice to everyone. He did not see caste or religion when he gave ration, houses and cylinders to people.

In the upcoming polls, is the BJP relying on its old strategy of OBC consolidation?

This is not the first time that I am travelling across the state as a star campaigner. My focus has always been development policies and issues. I have always sought votes on them. Even in my early days, my father, the late Pandurang Phundkar, Anna Dange and others gave a Bahujan face to the party. They made (social) combinations, which are needed and brought common people into politics. We are only taking that legacy forward. Working with the downtrodden, oppressed classes cannot be termed as a strategy. This is how we are ideologically. That is our core.

Is the BJP indulging in caste-based campaigning?

That is not true. It is natural for a leader to campaign in an area where he or she has a large following. Every party does it but that does not mean we are resorting to caste-based campaigning. This is being looked at differently after the Lok Sabha polls.

Is it true that (Deputy CM) Devendra Fadnavis is not campaigning in Marathwada?

I do not know who plans his rallies. We have a war room which decides where a leader will hold rallies. Devendraji also follows the same procedure. Recently, he addressed a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and now he will campaign in Nanded. I have no time to check where he is addressing rallies.

Is soyabean becoming an issue in this election?

It is important to know that certain things depend on the international market. There could be a mechanism where farmers are given certain subsidies if the prices fall below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). It will change the picture.

Do you think the rebellion will harm your prospects in Beed district?

Not only in Beed, but across the state. This is not only true for us but also for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). I do not belong to Beed alone now. I am an MLC and belong to the entire state. The rebellion is because people are eager to contest (the polls) but we have managed to curb a majority of it.

Do you eye a bigger role in state politics?

I cannot say anything on this now. My role will be decided by the party leadership after the polls. Even in the last five years, I have never expressed discontent. It was all a media creation. When people asked me why I was not getting a certain position, I told them that it was a party decision and we accepted them. I never expressed unhappiness.

The BJP is not in the fray from Parli for the first time in four decades. What do you have to say about that?

I feel sad. It is my father’s constituency and I have been here since I was a toddler. For the last five years, when I had nothing, the (party) workers remained by my side with thousands of them joining me to campaign for Dhananjay. They were sad too but I appealed to them to campaign for the ‘clock’ symbol (of the NCP) just like they would for the Lotus (the BJP symbol).

Are your supporters worried about your political future?

Of course. Every worker is worried about the future of his leader. My job is to allay those fears as no one knows what the future has in store for us.