Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, ZEE NEWS hosted an “Ek Bharat-Shreshth Bharat” conclave in Mumbai on Saturday. Maharashtra’s Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis was also present at the program, where he openly addressed a range of challenging issues, including amendments to the Waqf Bill, the performance of the Maha Yuti during the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, dynastic politics, reconciliation with opposing ideologies and the recent tensions at a religious site in Dharavi.
Reacting to the opposition parties’ political strategies, the BJP leader said that the opposition is playing the same card that benefited them during the Lok Sabha elections. He further emphasised that understanding the dynamics of the opposition’s strategy is crucial for the coming assembly election and also suggested that the government needs to be proactive to counter the opposition effectively.
Deputy CM Fadnavis emphasised the impact of a “false narrative” created by the opposition, which fostered the belief that if the BJP secured 400 seats, everything would change. This led to significant polarization among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, resulting in fewer seats for them.
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Fadnavis mentioned the phenomenon of “vote jihad,” citing that while his party were leading in five out of six assembly segments in Dhule, Congress managed to secure over a lakh votes in Malegaon alone, which hurt their overall performance.
Reacting to the Badlapur encounter, Maharashtra’s Deputy CM clarified that they do not support encounters and stated that the police acted in self-defence. He accused the opposition of relying on “ultra-anarchist” elements and highlighted that Asaduddin Owaisi operates within his own ecosystem, distancing himself from Congress’s “Bharat Jodo” campaign, which he claimed lacks sincerity.
Fadnavis emphasised that Maharashtra is a developed state and asserted that they set the narrative for development while accusing Congress of politicising every issue. He reiterated that their focus remains on law and order through proper legal channels rather than extrajudicial measures.
In response to questions about the Dharavi incident, he said, “The law is doing its job. It’s a significant achievement that we have not allowed the situation to deteriorate.”