Coalition government era coming to an end: Vinod Tawde, BJP

BJP’s leader of the opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council Vinod Tawde, who has been attracting large crowds in his rallies, speaks to Rohit Chandavarkar about his party’s campaign and the post-poll plans in the state. Excerpts:

Do you think BJP-Sena split could result in a fractured mandate in the state?

We have learned a lot from the Lok Sabha results. People know that if development has to happen, a single party has to be in power. This is the beginning of the end of coalition politics. In Maharashtra, people will vote for us whether we are in some alliance or not.

All opinion polls showed Sena-BJP alliance could have swept polls.

I think people are very impressed with Narendra Modi and they want to give him a proper chance. A state like Maharashtra can progress only if the same party is in power in Delhi and in Mumbai.

Will the BJP be open to forming alliances after the polls?

We believe that the BJP will get a clear majority in the assembly. But we will be open to taking help from Shiv Sena which has been with us for a long time and are like-minded. We will certainly not have any alliance with the NCP.

RPI has split after your alliance with Sena broke. WIll it hurt your polls prospects?

We feel that RPI’s Ramdas Athawale is one of the biggest faces of the dalit moment. He and many others have decided to stay with the BJP and I am sure they will garner support for us in certain pockets which will turn out to be crucial.

How is BJP taking on the big leaders of Congress and NCP?

We have fielded strong candidates against all the prominent rival party leaders, including Prithviraj Chavan, RR Patil, Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal. In Sangli, the BJP is sure it will defeat RR Patil. We are presenting a united opposition against these top leaders in their constituencies to ensure that they are defeated.