In his first interview since the

Lok Sabha

elections,

Maharashtra

CM

Devendra Fadnavis

speaks at length to

Prafulla Marpakwar

on PM

Narendra Modi

’s statement on minorities, the LS poll result, his target of an assembly poll record, his agenda before the hustings, and a cabinet expansion. Excerpts:

PM Narendra Modi has observed that minorities had long been made to live in fear by those who believed in vote bank politics and that this deception needs to end to take everyone along. Modi has emphasised the need to win the trust of all sections.

How do you look at the massive victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena nominees? Was there a Modi wave?

Despite the Modi wave, BJP lost one seat, while Shiv Sena lost six seats.

BJP-Shiv Sena contested the Lok Sabha elections together. What about assembly elections?

Congress has alleged that BJP sponsored veteran Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. State president Ashok Chavan feels Congress-NCP lost at least 11 seats owing to votes polled by VBA A.

Will the drought situation and demand for loan waiver have an impact on the upcoming assembly elections?

Now, five months are left for the assembly elections. What is your agenda?

Any plans to expand the cabinet?

Modiji has made a very important observation on the members of the minority community, which was so far considered a vote bank. BJP’s policy is very clear: there will be no appeasement, but at the same time, it will be ensured that their basic needs in the fields of education, jobs, health and social sectors are fulfilled. We will ensure they are treated on a par with all citizens. We will reach out to all, there will be no discrimination against anyone. Our efforts will be to bring them to the mainstream.In fact, if we look at the performance of my government during the last five years, it will be seen that members of the minority community were never ill-treated or ignored on the grounds that they belong to the minority community. In the days to come, while the existing schemes for minorities will be implemented in letter and spirit, at the same time, my government will examine afresh the schemes drafted by the central government.In my opinion, there was a silent Modi wave. People from all walks of life voted for Modi, for a stable government. From the voting pattern, it has been established that there was no adverse impact after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetisation. It was clear in the minds of the people that certain decisions taken by Modi were for the common man and they were not taken for his personal benefit. Policy decisions taken by the Modi-led NDA government restored the confidence of global investors. During voting, there was massive enthusiasm among the middleclass population; people below the poverty line too voted in favour of BJP since they believed in the plans drafted by Modi. Dalits and Marathas are also with us.We won 41 out of 48 seats, one less than the seats we had won in 2014. We are shocked and surprised over the defeat of our nominee from Chandrapur, Hansraj Ahir, minister of state for home. We lost these seats by narrow margins. Both BJP and Shiv Sena will have to analyse the reasons and take corrective steps at the grassroots level to restore the lost base. We will examine if we lost owing to anti-incumbency.Contesting the Lok Sabha elections together was a wise decision, it yielded fruits. Owing to the joint efforts and campaign led by me and Uddhav Thackeray, we were able to win 41 out of the 48 seats. We will contest the assembly elections, too, jointly. Our victory clearly indicates that people from all walks of life have endorsed Modiji’s policies. In the assembly elections, I am sure we will set a record. Don’t be surprised if we cross the 220 (seats) mark.In 2014, BJP had won 122, Shiv Sena 63 (total 185), and we were supported by a section of Independents. Then we had contested the assembly elections separately. The Congress-NCP will not be able to make any impact during the assembly elections this time. We expect that the seat sharing formula will be drafted amicably.I don’t agree with Chavan. There is no need for the BJP to sponsor VBA. In fact, Congress was negotiating a seat sharing formula with Ambedkar. When there was no understanding, Ambedkar decided to contest separately. It was his decision. Under these circumstances, it is wrong to blame BJP.It’s a fact that more than a dozen districts have been affected by drought. We have taken all possible measures to tackle drought, collectors across the state have been given all powers to tackle the situation. Funds will not be a problem; if there is need, we will enhance allocation and in addition, we will not hesitate to approach the Centre. Complete loan waiver is not possible, at the most, we can widen the scope of the existing loan waiver scheme. We can consider all those applications which have been rejected on technical grounds. Before taking any big financial decision, we will have to look at fiscal prudence.Our effort will be to enhance the economic stability of farmers and complete the maximum number of infrastructure projects in Mumbai and across the state as early as possible. I know several key projects, particularly in Mumbai, are in different stages of completion. I have instructed the officials to ensure that the projects are completed in a time-bound period to improve the quality of life.It’s a long-standing proposal. It was planned on several occasions but could not take place. Now I have decided to expand before June 17, on the day the monsoon session of the state legislature begins. (I am) Yet to decide whether it will be just a reshuffle or an expansion.Read this story in Marathi