It's Modi who indulges in votebank politics: Maha Congress chief

As state president of the Congress in Maharashtra, Manikrao Thakre has the unenviable task of bringing together bitterly opposed factions within the party, keeping at bay an aggressive partner in the NCP that is now also the Congress’s keenest rival in the state and, amid this, preparing for two elections in 2014. In an interview to Firstpost, Thakre speaks about the Modi wave in urban Maharashtra, secularism as the Congress sees it and the continual jousting with the NCP.

With 48 MPs, Maharashtra is an important state for the Congress, but you’ll be entering the poll contest battling a double anti-incumbency – against the UPA and against the Maharashtra government. What’s your vision for the 2014 polls? 

In 2009, the Congress party put up a good show in Maharashtra’s Lok Sabha seats and also in Assembly. The NCP, our partner, also did well, though with a little fewer seats in Assembly.

The Shiv Sena has fallen dramatically. The BJP has lost tremendously too in Maharashtra, in Lok Sabha seats and in Assembly too.

For 15 years, the Congress in Maharashtra has had an upper hand in politics in the state. We remain the Number one party in Maharashtra and will continue to remain so. The NCP has come second, with 62 MLAs. The Sena and the BJP have been left quite far behind. So the result in 2014 will remain as it was in 2009 in Maharashtra – the Congress and the NCP will form a government in Maharashtra in 2014.

You have to also see that there are no allegations of any wrongdoing against the Congress in the state under the leadership of the chief minister. Even when faced with the challenge of enquiries into departments controlled by the NCP, for example the overhauling of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank, the CM has not fallen short.

Across the state, various programmes have been implemented – we observed the Samajik Samata Varsha to celebrate and promote social equality. The organisation and the government are both working, right up from the grassroots level.

Is that enough to counter anti-incumbency as well as the Modi wave?

Politics in Maharashtra has been rooted for long in the Shah-Phule ideals of equality and social justice. The language that Modi speaks and his agenda show clearly that it is the RSS speaking, the BJP is only the facade. People won’t allow the thoughts that led to the killing of Mahatma Gandhi to grow in Maharashtra. The Congress believes in secular ideals and the Maharashtra Congress will emerge victorious in the General Election as well as in the Assembly Elections in 2014.

Not just Modi, many average citizens too have begun to feel that the Congress’s secularism is just votebank politics masquerading as an ideal.

The concept of secularism has been connected with the Congress since Independence through Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of keeping people from various religions and other groupings together. The foundations of secularism in India were laid by the Congress.

As far as votebank politics is concerned, if it is political gains you seek, then you would align yourself with the majority, not after the minorities and the downtrodden and needy. In fact it is Modi who is indulging in votebank politics. The Congress has and never will indulge in that.

But over the past year, a strong Congress Vs NCP trend has emerged in Maharashtra. So a big UPA partner who is also your government partner is now actually your biggest rival. How do you counter that?

Going with the NCP is a compulsion for us. The Congress, in Delhi as well as here in the state, is keen to ensure that secular votes are not split. In fact, the Congress in Maharashtra can be very successful even on its own, there’s no doubting that. But we want to keep secular parties together.

But there is a constant grappling between you and the NCP. Earlier last year NCP ministers at the Centre skipped a Cabinet meeting to protest poor coordination in Maharashtra, an NCP leader attended the anti-communalism Third Front plank. Now the seat-sharing formula with the NCP appears to be causing you discomfort. 

The talk about the seat sharing is premature. Seat sharing in 2004 and in 2009 was decided after discussions – it was Congress: 27 and NCP: 21 in 2004, and Congress:26 and NCP:22 in 2009, because they had some additional Assembly seats. But of the 22 they contested, only eight got elected. Congress candidates won 17 of the 26 they contested. Then, four months after LS polls, NCP fought only 114 Assembly seats  instead of 124. So, going by the same logic, the ratio should now be Congress: 29 and NCP: 19. 

They are thrashing about this talk of sustaining the Congress: 26 and NCP: 22 seat sharing when no discussions have even taken place.

Is there a strong Maharashtra Navnirman Sena factor this year, especially given the whispers of the BJP wooing the MNS to join a grand alliance against the Congress? In 2009, the MNS taking out a slice of the Shiv Sena’s votes had very clearly helped the Congress-NCP.

The Congress has always been opposed to the politics of the Shiv Sena and the MNS is born of the same party. So there can be no change in the votes that the Congress party gets anyway.

That doesn’t take into account the Modi wave, which could swing fence sitters away from the Congress.

The Narendra Modi wave is a creation of his own. Modi’s core values and beliefs are those of the RSS – people opposed to those thoughts will not be impressed by this self hype. As for Gujarat’s development, Maharashtra is actually far ahead.

Politically too, the true situation is very different from what he portrays. In the Gujarat Assembly elections, apart from six seats, the Congress was behind by only 6 lakh votes. This so-called wave of complete support for Modi is actually hot air.

And he has already been shown up in some things – the Sardar Patel advertisements, for example, were placed spending crores of rupees. Money does not come from nowhere. He talks of corruption, but how will he stop corruption? His foundation is based on money.

If this is going to be India’s first election where social media could actually have some impact, do you young, urban voters don’t matter to you? Because there is a feeling that the BJP is miles ahead of you when it comes to reaching out to through social media.

Whether it’s the Congress or the BJP, any large party has an established system for campaigning. Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms are the new wave of campaigning that came later. The RSS had a wing to tap this medium and they have supported the BJP’s attempts to use social media to campaign and to spread misinformation. In any case, Modi was a spokesperson earlier, he has used this from the start – that much we have to concede.

Now all parties including the Congress have begun to use social media, acquainting even units at the district level with Facebook, Twitter and more.