Congress is getting unprecedented response in Gujarat: Rajeev Satav

Rajeev Satav, a 43-year-old first-time MP from Hingoli in the Marathwada region, is a promising face of the Congress, both in Maharashtra and in Parliament. He is the one of the secretaries in charge of the upcoming Assembly elections. DNA spoke with him on the party's fortunes in the Gujarat elections and how they plan to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Excerpts:

Gujarat has been under the BJP rule for 22 years now, the longest for any party in the state. How do you plan to stop the party?

The most important part is that in 2014 Lok Sabha elections if you see, Modiji insisted and always praised the Gujarat model, he claimed that he had done a miracle in Gujarat and he wanted to repeat that across India. But, on the ground in Gujarat, there is nothing. The government hospitals are not working properly, there are no doctors, there are no medicines. If you visit the schools, there are no teachers, they are on fixed pay for the last 15 years. That is not the case in Maharashtra and other states. The claims of Modiji about the Gujarat model are not at all real.

'Vikas Gando Thayo Chhe' was not coined by Congress, but the youth of the state, so the battle is between the BJP and the people of Gujarat, and we are representing the people who are claiming that there is no development on the ground.

What is your key poll plank in the state?

We have a very clear line — if we come to power, we will immediately announce a farm loan waiver. We are not seeking votes against the failure of the BJP. What we are saying is, we have not been in power for 22 years, and the people have seen how the BJP has fared in those decades. Almost one generation has come off age in this period. If we come to power, we will waive farm loans, create jobs and also take up the issues of traders.

In the last two years, there have been agitations by Patidars and Dalits. How is Congress tapping into their resentment?

If you see closely, most communities are unhappy with them because they have not heard them and addressed their issues. We have reached out to these groups and communities with the assurance that we will look into their issues with genuine concern and deliver.

What do you have to say on the EC's decision to defer announcement of Gujarat poll schedule?

In the last 20 years, both states have gone to polls simultaneously. There was no credible reason to defer the announcement of schedules for the Gujarat polls. It was done only to allow the Prime Minister and the state government to make poll-related announcements.

Even though there has been resentment in some quarters, the Prime Minister remains popular. How are you countering this?

This is not an election of Mr Modi but it is about Vijay Rupani. It is a state election and we are fighting for the development of Gujarat and we are working on that premise that Gujarat has not delivered. Our fight is with the state leadership.