Mumbai: Union minister Piyush Goyal on Friday claimed that BJP will have a clean sweep in Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, and the Mahayuti will form the next government in Maharashtra with a thumping majority. The party is contesting on 17 seats in Mumbai. Mr Goyal, who is a Lok Sabha member from the north Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency, said that the party will secure all six seats that are part of his Lok Sabha constituency. Goyal also defended UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's statement “Batenge to Katenge” (If we divide, we will be cut) stating that those who are of nationalist views would not get divided.
Mr. Goyal has been campaigning for the party candidates in Mumbai. He was on Friday campaigning for the party candidate and incumbent MLA Parag Shah in Ghatkopar (East) constituency. Speaking to this newspaper, the Union minister said that the BJP and its alliance patterns took corrective measures after their dismal performance in Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra.
Mr. Goyal further said that there was no merit in the claim that the results in Maharashtra were poor as the BJP-led Mahayuti received only two lakh votes less than the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). He added that one particular community voted in favor of the MVA in one of the six Assembly segments, which impacted the final outcome. “The Maharashtra government has taken various decisions for the welfare of the people. With an introduction of ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’, Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana and the works of 100 days by the Union central government, I am sure that our Mahayuti will certainly win the Assembly election,” the Union Minister said.
When asked about the resentment of the Maratha community against the BJP, he said that it is a past now and the Maratha community has realised which party takes care of their interest. “The Mahayuti has provided assistance and various facilities to the Maratha community. The MVA did not pay attention to the grievances of the Maratha community during the MVA’s regime. They (Marathas) have realised that the Mahayuti and central governments will protect their interests,” he said.
On Yogi Adityanath’s statement “Batenge toh katenge” slogan calling for Hindu unity, Mr. Goyal said that everyone must be patriotic in India. “We are inspired by nationalist views. Therefore, we should not get divided,” he said.
Talking about the Assembly seats in Mumbai, Mr. Goyal said that the Mahayuti would win all six seats including the Malad Assembly constituency, which was won by Congress’s Aslam Shaikh in 2019. “Aslam Shaikh has been trying to make election communal in the Malad constituency for the last many years. He has always done politics of appeasement, which benefited him. The people are now aware and well-informed. The Mahayuti will win all six seats of the north Mumbai Lok Sabha seat,” he said.
The BJP fielded Vinod Shelar against the incumbent MLA and senior Congress leader Aslam Shaikh.
The candidature of Parag Shah, for whom Mr. Goyal was campaigning, was declared a few days before the nomination filing deadline. Former minister Prakash Mehta and few other BJP stalwarts were also interested to contest from the Ghatkopar East seat, which has been BJP’s bastion for over two decades.
When asked about the delay in declaring Mr. Shah’s candidature, Mr. Goyal said, “The party leadership decides the candidature of anyone by considering various factors. Sometimes, the incumbent public representative does not want to contest the election. There could be different situations (for not announcing the candidature at an early stage). I don’t have any specific information regarding the delay in announcement of candidature here.”
