To try and end the crisis in its Maharashtra unit, the BJP top brass today gave in to the demands of general secretary Gopinath Munde by removing Madhu Chavan as the party’s new Mumbai chief and bringing in Gopal Shetty. Munde withdrew his resignation from key party posts and told The Indian Express that it was Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray who had advised him to “talk to the party, don’t do anything that goes against it”. Although state BJP chief and rival Nitin Gadkari said Munde’s would be the last word in the Maharashtra unit, party disciplinary committee chief Ram Naik cautioned “a compromise formula always has negative effects”.Excerpts from an exclusive interview with Munde:•Are you happy with the outcome of talks with the BJP high command?Absolutely. The talks with the central leadership were fruitful and in the right spirit. I was opposed to the undemocratic functioning of the party and the central leadership has rectified the situation.•What’s the compromise formula? Why did you insist on Mumbai BJP president-elect Madhu Chavan’s removal when you earlier said you had nothing against him?The upshot of the talks is that the state BJP president and I shall have a say in all party issues in Maharashtra, including on Assembly or Lok Sabha elections. I have nothing personal against Chavan, but the manner in which he was propped up was not democratic. My fight is against this “kitchen cabinet” style of functioning for the last two years.•But the panel of Bal Apte, Ram Naik and Ved Prakash Goyal for electing a new city chief had your go-ahead. Why did you then oppose the name? The panel was constituted to talk to people, not to elect a new chief. I was merely told about the panel’s constitution.•Why were you marginalised in the Maharashtra BJP after Pramod Mahajan’s death?Yes, they did try to marginalise me, but I refused to be marginalised. I won’t like to dwell on the forces behind this, now that all this has ended on a happy note.•Is your proposed Samvad Yatra still on?It has been called off. The resignations have been withdrawn, I have to get back to party work and the next course of action will be decided after talking to my people in the state.•How many Opposition leaders called you in the last couple of days after you announced your decision to resign?Leaders from virtually every party — the Congress, NCP and others called me.•What was Bal Thackeray’s suggestion to you when you called on him?Balasaheb is a revered figure for me, especially after Pramod Mahajan’s death. He told me “talk to the party, don’t do anything that goes against it”.•Which central BJP leaders played an important role in dousing the fire?L K Advani, Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu all played crucial roles. But it was Naidu who burnt the midnight oil to defuse the crisis, so all credit to him.•There’s a perception that the central BJP gave in to a strong state leader. Leaders from other states would be encouraged to do a Munde.Unless state leaders are strong, how can the centre be strong? And this was not a state-Centre issue. There were problems regarding the undemocratic functioning of the party in the state, something that has now been addressed.•Yesterday you said that the BJP should have a “Bahujan” character. What does that mean?The social base of the BJP must be expanded to include all castes and communities, including the OBCs. This is what I had said yesterday. The central leaders whole-heartedly agreed with me.•Pasha Patel, an avid campaigner for the Sachar panel recommendations for backward Muslims, has been included in the state core committee at your behest, but your party has based an entire ideology against Sachar.Pasha is a state BJP general secretary, and thus an important leader. He only supports underprivileged Muslims and their rights.
