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'Jai Shri Ram' has become the slogan of election in Bengal, says BJP's Gajendra Shekhawat
In an interview with Smriti Kak Ramachandran ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, he also accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s government of corruption, and said “Jai Shri Ram” has become Bengal’s election slogan.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is in charge of five Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal, says the Trinamool Congress’s electoral ship is about to sink. In an interview with Smriti Kak Ramachandran ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, he also accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s government of corruption, and said “Jai Shri Ram” has become Bengal’s election slogan. Edited excerpts:
The BJP won 18 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. How confident is the party of translating the gains in the upcoming assembly polls?
People in Bengal are fed up with the TMC government; they are unhappy with corruption, the red tape and politics of vendetta. However, until they believe that the BJP can turn the tables, they won’t be able to escape this. If you look back in time, it took Mamata Banerjee 15 years to make people believe that she can change things.
Till the last assembly election (when the BJP won 3 seats), people did not believe that the BJP can be an alternative. Now, people are convinced that change can happen only when the BJP comes to power.
What gives the BJP an edge over the TMC?
Development that took place since the Narendra Modi government was formed (at the Centre)…the changes in the lives of ordinary people have sent out a message to the poor and the masses that development can only happen if the BJP government is there. People are aware of how the implementation of central schemes is not happening in West Bengal.
How will the BJP counter the “Bahari (outsider)” vs Bengali narrative? The TMC also accuses you of communalising politics.
In the last 10 years, her (Banerjee’s) slogan has been “Ma, Mati, Manush (mother, soil and people)”. Today, the people of Bengal are compelled to acknowledge that they (the state government) have not done justice to any of the sections.
The state ranks very high in crimes against women. When I went to the state for the first time, I saw posters of missing girls on the walls with numbers scribbled at the bottom. I was told that there is a problem of girls going missing and the police not taking action. So, NGOs have come forward to help those families whose girls had gone missing...Drinking water is another issue that directly affects women. If water connections can be supplied in other parts of the country, why not in Bengal?
The general image of Bengali people was that of bhadralok (gentleman). People of Bengal would react to any injustice or a problem in any part of the world. But now there is such an atmosphere of fear that people do not raise their voice against injustice in neighbour’s home.
The BJP has managed to get some TMC leaders with political heft on board. The Opposition says it has become a trend to poach leaders ahead of elections. Why has the party not been able to groom its own leaders?
It is natural that when a ship is sinking many people want to opt out. Mamata Banerjee’s ship is about to sink. Even in Uttar Pradesh, when we were contesting elections, there were many people from various political parties who joined the BJP. We are a party based on ideology. We welcome those who want to align with our ideology. Today, the BJP is the largest party in the country and many people who were with other parties have chosen our path.
Is it ideology or political expedience?
In our sphere of work we have to consider all possibilities. We go with a belief that those who believe in our ideology will continue to work with us and those who don’t may even quit.
The BJP accuses the TMC of appeasement for votes. Now, Furfura Sharif cleric Abbas Siddiqui has floated his political party. AIMIM is also throwing its hat in the ring. Will the BJP benefit from the divisions in the Muslim vote?
This is the first time that elections will be contested in West Bengal on the basis of development…the face of development in India is Prime Minister Modi. If there is a Modi versus Mamata comparison on the issue of development, then people have no doubts about who to pick...The policy of appeasement that has been followed has in some way compelled the majority community to think that despite their support, the government, for its own vote bank politics, has been indulging in appeasement.
How do you read Banerjee’s decision of contesting from Nandigram?
She’s running away to Nandigram because she is scared. She is aware and she’s been told by her intelligence network that this time she cannot win the election in Bhawanipore (in south Kolkata).
What is your comment about the acrimony between the parties over chanting “Jai Shri Ram”?
Looking at her response to the chant, people across ideologies are questioning why she gets irritated by it. Jai Shri Ram has now certainty become the slogan of the election in Bengal.
