The state head of the BJP, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, has the huge responsibility of ensuring more seats than previous Lok Sabha polls from Uttar Pradesh in the coming parliamentary polls. Pandey and his team has been burning the midnight oil to accomplish this task. Equipped with Modi-Shah support and a clamour for the Ram temple, he is confident of achieving this task. He spoke to THE WEEK about the many issues, including Ram temple at Ayodhya. Excerpts from the interview.
Do you think Ram temple issue will help your party in 2019 Lok Sabha polls?
The question is not getting political mileage in polls, but it is our commitment to the nation. The BJP is a national party. It belongs to the people of the country. We openly support this issue. The proposal in this connection was passed in 1989 in our Palampur (Himachal Pradesh) meeting and the party still strongly supports that.
But the whole issue is quite knotty and disputed. And, there is tug of war going on between two communities over it?
There is no dispute as such. Both the parties accepted it that once upon a time there was a temple at the disputed site. Even the high court (Uttar Pradesh) has accepted this fact. Now, the matter is being heard by the apex court. I humbly appeal to the court that the matter should be decided as soon as possible on top priority basis. Because of the blessings of the people we have formed the government at the Centre and 19 other states. We have a strong commitment to them.
Why is your party so passionate about the temple issue this time?
We have struggled a lot for building the temple. Sacrificed a lot. I was in jail for more than two months while taking part in this movement. In fact, I was the first person on whom the NSA (national security Act) was slapped by the Mulayam Singh government for taking part in the Ram temple movement. ‘Yeh hamere sangarshon ka fal hai ki wahan Ram Lalla virjman hai’ (This is the fruit of our struggle that Ram Lalla is there). Now, the efforts are on to provide him a scintillating abode there.
How will your party build temple there? Do you have any road map for this?
We have full support on this issue. We are getting support from both the communities. Even our alliance partners are supporting us strongly. Then there are organisations like Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) and others. All of us want a grand temple to come up there soon.
But now people want a specific date for the construction. Has the BJP thought of any date in this regard?
These are the subjects on which party is thinking intensely. A responsible party will not determine the date in such a manner. Intense fruitful efforts are going on in this direction. We all want that temple to be built in Ayodhya soon.
There are voices of dissent in your party. Some of your MPs, MLAs and alliance partners have been pulling away in different directions. As a state head, how do you tackle it?
The situation is as bad as is made out. The BJP has a massive strength of workers and representatives. There is perfect coordination among them. Even in small parties one comes across differences, ours is a huge party. Leaders have the right to raise issues in their respective areas and should bring it up before the party and the government. This should not be viewed as dissent. There is no communication gap.
As the party head in UP what would be your strategy to perform well in 2019 parliament polls in Uttar Pradesh?
Our workers are taking all welfare schemes of the government to the remotest booth level. Every booth, which is a vital component of polls, is being taken care of. We have not left the implementation of the various welfare schemes to the officials. Rather, we are executing and monitoring their implementation ourselves so that we get a direct benefit out of it. Previous governments used to leave the implementation of these schemes to officials. So many of the schemes remained confined to the lab and did not reach the land. There is strict monitoring and implementation in our government. All this will help us do well in Lok Sabha polls.
Then why did your party lose some important bypolls?
We did quite well in municipal polls. Some bypolls were aberrations. Even in Kairana, though we lost the parliament seat, our vote-margin went up. The party is totally disciplined. Our workers are always available to people. We communicate problems of people to the government and ensure a viable solution.
Will poor law and order be a problem and an issue in upcoming parliament polls?
I strongly refute all allegations pertaining to poor law and order situation. Organised crime has totally been quelled. Today, in every nook and corner of the state, there is rule of law. This was not the situation in previous governments. They sheltered the criminals. There has not been any major law and order incident during the BJP’s regime in UP. Some minor incidents took place, but they should not be viewed in this light. We have been very strict with criminals and anti-social elements.
Party high command has high hopes from UP in 2019 polls. As the state president are you confident of doing well here?
In 2014, the party had fought polls by keeping Modiji at its centre. ‘2019 mein bhi Modiji he kendra mein hain’ (In 2019, too, Modji is at the centre.) He has a clean image. Globally, he is recognised. We are going to the polls with his mega image. The various welfare schemes initiated by him for the poor will also help. People see a better future with him. So, with all these factors we are pretty confident of doing well in the polls in Uttar Pradesh. People’s confidence is consolidated in him. People’s confidence has grown in the ideology and policy of the BJP. With this capability we are going to polls and are sure of getting more than 73 seats this time.
Will rising prices of essential commodities, petrol, diesel and other things affect party’s poll prospects adversely?
Rising prices is a normal process. Some international events were beyond control of our government so it led to price hike. But the government has been making concerted efforts to control these things. I do not think it will affect BJP’s poll prospects in any way.
