As Maharashtra gears up for assembly elections, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's Mahajanadesh Yatra is getting a huge response across the state. The yatra, divided in three phases, will cover 152 out of total 288 assembly constituencies. In the first phase from August 1 to 7, Fadnavis covered the entire Vidarbha region. The first phase of the yatra had to be cut short due to sad demise of senior BJP leader and former Union minister Sushma Swaraj and massive floods in the southern Maharashtra . The second phase began in Dhule and will cover the entire Marathwada region reeling under drought and acute water scarcity. This phase will end on September 1 in Solapur where Union home minister Amit Shah will participate in the yatra for a day. The third and final phase of the yatra will begin after Ganesh festival and will cover western and south Maharashtra and Konkan region
THE WEEK traveled with Fadnavis for a day during the second phase of the yatra from Beed to Aurangabad. One of the first things that this correspondent noted is the fact that Fadnavis is not staying in posh hotels wherever the yatra is traveling. Instead, he chooses to spend his night at the state guest house and makes it a point to meet district officials, party activists and leaders and commoners.
Fadnavis' day begins with a press conference for local journalists. In Beed, he spoke at length about how while Kolhapur and Sangli had battled massive floods, the shadow of water scarcity loomed large over most of the Marathwada region. His grand vision for a second term in office, if elected to power, will be to make Maharashtra drought-free. “The cabinet has already sanctioned Marathwada water grid project. We will link all the dams in Marathwada region with pipelines by lifting 167 tmc water which flows into sea in Konkan region,” said Fadnavis.
Wasting no time after the press conference, the chief minister boarded his special mini bus which takes him around the state during his yatra. The bus, borrowed from Madhya Pradesh BJP—it was made for former MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan for his yatras—is equipped with modern facilities like an in-built toilet. It also has a small elevator to take Fadnavis on the roof of the bus so that he can greet and interact with people as he travels across the state.
Pankaja Munde, daughter of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde and Maharashtra's minister for rural development, was accompanying Fadnavis in the bus all through Beed district. Beed is her home district. A day earlier in the public rally at Beed, Fadnavis had complemented Pankaja for her work as a state minister. Pankaja returned the compliment by stating that after her father's demise Fadnavis had become her guru in state politics. But the equation between Fadnavis and Pankaja is not that of a guru- shishya, it is much more informal. Belonging to the same generation, Pankaja and Fadnavis can share jokes and hearty laugh with much ease.
As the bus left Beed, people stood on both sides of the road to get a glimpse of the chief minister. Through the open window, flowers and garlands were being showered on Fadnavis as he was waving his hand. Pankja told THE WEEK that NCP's 'Shiv Swarayjya Yatra' had traveled through Beed just a couple of days ago. “People gave it a cold shoulder. You should have witnessed that yatra to understand the difference between the huge response that we are getting and the lukewarm response that they were getting,” she said.
The conversation is interrupted as Fadnavis called Pankaja. She rushed to the window and stood next to Fadnavis only to realise that the crowds that had gathered on the street were shouting twin slogans—the first being 'Devendraji Tum Aage Badho Hum Tumhare Saath Hain (March forward Devendraji, we are with you), and the second one being 'Pankajatai Tum Aage Badho Hum Tumhare Saath Hain'.
The next stop was Georai, 32 kms away from Beed. Local BJP legislator Lakshman Pawar had made sure that the CM and his yatra got a grand welcome in Georai. Five kms ahead of Georai, close to a couple of thousand bikes joined the yatra. Ignoring traffic rules, many of the bikes had three persons riding it. All of them were local youth, each of the bikes had one person waving a BJP flag, they rode ahead of the yatra convoy as if they were a grand escort party. Fadnavis had, by then, taken an elevator and reached the roof of the mini bus along with Pankaja. In Georai, once again, the crowds had lined up the street to greet Fadnavis.
Georai has traditionally been a bastion of first the Congress and then the NCP. The BJP first won it in 2004, when Amarsinh Pandit won the election. Pandit is originally an NCP man who was brought to the BJP by late Gopinath Munde. Pandit switched sides because of his rivalry with his cousin Badamrao Pandit. The seat returned to the NCP in 2009 when Badamrao won it back. The two cousins declared a truce and Amarsingh returned to the NCP soon after. He is now an MLC from NCP quota. In the Modi wave of 2014, the BJP's Lakshman Pawar won the seat. He is the current legislator.
Fadnavis' rally at Georai was impressive. The ground, although small, was fully packed. In this speech, Fadnavis took potshots at the opposition. He said that the opposition was behaving like a dumb and bad student. “When a dumb student fails exam he blames it on the faulty pen. Similarly they are blaming EVMs for their defeat without realising that the fault lies with them alone,” said the chief minister. He also raised the issue of abrogation of Article 370 by the central government and there was thunderous applause. “Now you will see only one flag in Srinagar and that is Tiranga (the national tri-colour flag),” said Fadnavis as crowds began shouting Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogans.
“People know that our intentions are good. They are tired of the Congress and the NCP. That is the feedback I am getting wherever I am traveling. On one of the previous days, a Muslim woman came to meet me. She gave me flowers with tears in her eyes and thanked the government for abolition of triple talak. That is the feeling among common Muslim women,” Fadnavis told THE WEEK. He also recalled how an elderly woman in Vidarbha, in the first phase of the yatra, hugged him with much affection and gave him blessings asking him to continue good work. “These are some of the most memorable moments during the yatra that I experienced,” he said.
The stop after Georai was Ambad in Jalna district. Pankaja Munde got down from the mini bus at Shahgad, last village on border of Jalna and Beed, and Babanrao Lonikar, minister for water supply stepped in. Jalna is Lonikar's home district. A few miles ahead of Ambad, local legislator Narayan Kuche entered the bus. Kuche appeared keen to brief Fadnavis on some issues but the chief minister, being well informed, knew the local issues and concerns before hand. As the bus was approaching Ambad, Lonikar urged Fadnavis to inaugurate the water grid for 178 villages that he had made for Jalna district. “ This water grid is a miniature version of Marathwada water grid. We will supply water to 178 villages at the rate of Rs 7 per thousand litres,” Lonikar told THE WEEK. Turning to the CM, he urged Fadnavis to take a 10 minute halt at Watur junction near Mantha (Jalna district) so that this water grid scheme could be launched.
The rally at Ambad, too, was equally impressive. People came from all parts of the taluk to attend the rally. Women were also in sizable numbers, they were there more out of curiosity. They wanted to see how Fadnavis looked and talked in person. At Ambad, Union minister Raosaheb Danve Patil joined the yatra.
As the yatra left Ambad, Fadnavis, Danve Patil and Lonikar took the elevator and reached the roof of the bus to greet people. We were some 50 odd kms away from Aurangabad. The yatra was traveling on internal district road and passing through Rohilgad village when the bus suddenly came to a halt. Almost the entire village had come out to greet Fadnavis. School kids were running ahead of the bus and behind the bus as if they were chasing some Bollywood star. Women and men from the village lined up on both sides of the street and waved to Fadnavis who in turn greeted them. What should have been a five minute drive through the village took almost half an hour.
It was almost five in the evening and Fadnavis finally found time to have his lunch. The meal was simple. Salad, Bhakri and Zunka. Lonikar and Danve, too, had the same lunch with the CM. As he was having lunch, Fadnavis gave an interview to THE WEEK.
He expressed confidence that the BJP-Shiv Sena would come back to power in Maharashtra. “I am covering 152 constituencies during this yatra. I am confident that we will win 80-85 percent seats from these 152,” he said.
The yatra finally reached Aurangabad. In the city, it was welcomed at almost every road junction. “I am happy that I am getting to meet so many people and party activists. They have huge expectations and we are here to fulfill them. After the rally in Aurangabad, I will rush to Mumbai in the night, hold cabinet meeting at 8.30 in the morning and rush back to Fulambri (35 kms from Aurangabad) to start the yatra again. These days I am running the government on text messages,” joked the chief minister.
Doesn't he feel tired? “I feel recharged,” was Fadnavis' reply.
