Modiji has to be explained nicely what has gone wrong in Gujarat since he left the state,” says newly elected Gujarat MLA. But it isn’t right to take pot-shots at a prime minister since there is protocol to follow, says the OBC Ekta Manch founder, who won as a Congress candidate. In an interview with Vasudha Venugopal, Thakor says he has the firm backing of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to take the OBC movement outside Gujarat. Excerpts:I don’t have crowds but I have the cadre who influenced the outcome of 50-60 seats in Gujarat. The 53 new seats the Congress has won have come from areas where our influence worked. Winning six seats in Banaskantha was largely because of the efforts put in by my cadre. A leader like MoS (minister of state) Shankar Chowdhary lost only because he unnecessarily criticised me in front of my own people. The cadre worked tirelessly in Patan too where we won three seats. In Mehsana, we won seats such as Unjha and Becharaji that the BJP has held for 30 years. In Unjha we managed to get together 30% of the Patidars along with Dalits, Muslims and Thakores. I did no big rally or public meeting because I believe in working quietly. Farmers and backward communities supported me because they didn’t want to let down one of them.In Visnagar, we lost by 2,200 votes because our candidate was weak. We lost because of the behaviour of the candidate. In Kadi and Vijapur, we lost because former associates played a dirty game. In Gandhinagar, we were winning all seats but a few Congress rebels spoiled the game.Rahulji fully knows how these many seats have come for the Congress. He has said a new leadership will head the opposition. When I made the organisation in 2011, people laughed at me. There were attempts made to silence me too. But we worked silently. In 2014, I did a sabha in Mehsana in the summer of April at 2 pm where over a lakh people came to listen to me. At that time, I had cadres in 3,400 villages. I had already made inroads without creating any noise. From running mohalla tuition classes to having our own rules to prevent illicit liquor in 2,000 villages and training OBC youngsters to qualify for government exams, my cadre is present in 14,000 villages. We could have done well had the Congress placed better candidates. In Becaharaji, a candidate who wouldn’t have even `200 in his pocket earlier is an MLA now because I requested Rahul Gandhi to consider him. I have managed to convince Rahul about strength of may cadre too.Rahul Gandhi’s brand of politics is sustainable and positive. He is grooming me in some ways and I connect with his thinking. He doesn’t want to take pot-shots at people, even when they ridicule him. He wanted me to fight with honesty and not look for quick results. He says ideology is important and once people know you are there for them, they will come to you, sooner or later.One should not lose decency in speech. I can tell the PM affectionately that ‘saheb you have become fair by eating mushrooms’ but I cannot take unnecessary pot-shots at him. There is respect attached to PM’s position.At that time, there was an environment that if you joined the BJP, it meant that you were a sell-out. For a leader, his image is everything to gain trust and respect of the people. I wanted to keep my image intact. I had consulted people from OBC communities, Dalits and Adivasis, all of whom felt to gain actual power, the struggle should be ours and that way, we will not be dictated by any remotecontrolled leadership.I am not sure if Paresh Dhanani will be able to hold the sway over Patidars the way Hardik does. Hardik has way more support than anyone else. Paresh and I are in the assembly and we will have to work together to take this struggle forward. There will have to be consultation and consensus.I am not a leader of the Thakore community alone or just the OBCs as even Dalits, Adivasis and minorities played a role in my victory. In my constituency, even the Patidars supported me. All backward communities struck a chord with everyone. We are taking the OBC movement to the rest of the country now. I am first going to Assam and then West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and UP to create awareness about mobilising the OBCs.Is talking about poverty or rights of the backward communities a wrong thing. The PM too says he is an OBC leader.People of Gujarat are enterprising enough to make use of opportunities. The government here has a limited role. I urge the BJP is to take development beyond metros and riverfronts.