How ‘batenge toh katenge’ remark has led to a Fadnavis vs Ajit Pawar battle ahead of Maharashtra polls

Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are in a tiff.

And it’s all because of a political slogan.

Ajit, the nephew of Sharad Pawar, who leads his faction of the NCP, and Fadnavis, the Deputy Chief Minister in Maharashtra and BJP leader, are both part of the ruling Mahayuti**.**

But that hasn’t stopped them from exchanging barbs over Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s ‘batenge toh katenge’ slogan.

The development comes ahead of polls scheduled for Maharashtra and amid rumors of a rift in the ruling alliance after Ajit and other NCP leaders skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent rally in Mumbai.

Voting will be held on all 288 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra on November 20 and results will be declared on November 23.

But what happened? Why are the allies fighting?

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Let’s take a closer look:

What do we know about the slogan?

First, let’s take a look at the slogan.

The slogan was first used by Adityanath in August, according to India Today.

Adityanath made the reference while referring to violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.

Adityanath, speaking at an event in Agra, had said, “Aap dekh rahe hain Bangladesh mein kya ho raha hai? Wo galatiyan yahan nahi honi chahiye. Batenge toh katenge! Ek rahenge to nek rahenge, surakshit rahenge aur samriddhi ki parakashtha ko pahuchenge,” the chief minister said in Hindi.

Roughly translated, he asked people if they are watching what is happening in Bangladesh and said those mistakes should not happen here, adding, “Divided we fall, if together, we will be good, secure and reach the pinnacle of prosperity.”

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In October, posters with a photo Adityanath with the slogan were put  up in various parts of Mumbai.

Written in red, the message has a background colour combination of saffron, yellow and green.

The posters bore the name of one Vishwabandhu Rai.

The Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar had denied putting up these posters.

“The party has not put up the posters, and Rai does not hold any position in the party either.”

In reference to the message, Shelar said, “It is the feeling of a sizeable number of people here that if votes are cut, the society will suffer due to lack of development. Many people feel they should stay united and focus on voting unitedly for development and prosperity.”

As per India Today, Adityanath, a star campaigner for the BJP, then repeated the slogan during a recent rally in Maharashtra.

He also used the slogan again at a rally in Jharkhand.

Adityanath accused the opposition of dividing people on the lines of caste and religion.

“If we remain united, we will be safe. If we remain united, we will thrive. The time has come, under Prime Minister Modi’s vision, for India to establish itself as the world’s greatest power. But for that, we need one India. A united and stronger India. India will be better when it remains united,” Adityanath was quoted as saying.

The BJP then took out a newspaper ad with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ’ek hain to safe hain’ slogan.

But the opposition took the BJP and Adityanath to task.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The Prime Minister says ’ek hain to safe hain,’ while other BJP leaders talk about ‘batenge to katenge’. Who is threatened? Is there any problem? In fact, the country faces threats from the RSS, BJP, Modi, and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah.”

A house divided?

But it wasn’t just the opposition.

The slogan apparently hasn’t gone down well with their coalition partner Ajit.

Ajit told ANI, “We all have opposed it. Someone told me that BJP’s Pankaja Munde has also opposed this slogan. A CM of a state comes here and says ‘batenge toh katenge’, immediately we said such slogans will not work here as Maharashtra works on the principles of Ambedkar…I don’t know what is Devendra ji’s answer to this.”

Ajit told India Today the coalition’s focus ought to be development.

“I am not supporting it. I have said this several times. It will not work in Maharashtra. This may work in UP, Jharkhand, or some other places,” he said.

This isn’t the first time Ajit has taken aim at the slogan either.

“We have got your back. Why are you worried?…Someone said ‘batenge to katenge’, it will not work in Maharashtra. You do it in the north, not in Maharashtra. This state belongs to saints. Maharashtra is the land of Shiva followers. A land of Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar. Our blood carries their teachings, owing to which we will move forward while following the way shown by them,” Ajit said at a rally in Beed on Wednesday.

“Maharashtra belongs to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, and Mahatma Phule. You cannot compare Maharashtra with other states; the people of Maharashtra do not like this,” Ajit said after Adityanath’s rally.

BJP leader Ashok Chavan too echoed the negative sentiment.

“Slogans like this have no relevance in Maharashtra and are not in good taste. Personally, I do not support it," Chavan was quoted as saying.

Pankaja Munde, daughter of the late BJP veteran Gopinath Munde, told News18, “My politics is different. I won’t support this just because I belong to the party. We need to focus on development and work towards uniting every individual in Maharashtra."

However, Fadnavis remained defiant.

“For decades, Ajit Pawar stayed with such ideologies which are secular and anti-Hindu. There is no real secularism amongst those who call themselves secularists. He has stayed with people for whom opposing Hindutva is secular. It will take some time for him to understand the mood of the public," he was quoted as saying by News18.

“Ajit Pawar, Ashok Chavan come from a different ideology. They’re unable to understand the deeper meaning behind Yogi Adityanath’s ‘batenge to katenge’ call. We’ll help them understand,” Fadnavis told India Today on Friday.

“I spoke to Pankaja Munde, and she said the BJP will work on the basis of work done and not divisive slogans. So, it’s not like she is of two minds,” he added.

Fadnavis also dismissed any rumors of a rift within the ruling alliance.

“There is no rift. We had already decided on which top leaders would attend PM’s rallies in Maharashtra,” Fadnavis added.

With inputs from agencies