‘This govt will sell off Mantralaya furniture too’

No negative campaigning for the assembly polls this time, says BJP state president Nitin Gadkari. Instead of merely showing the Democratic Front government in poor light, the BJP will also project itself as a party with a vision of development, he tells DNA. Excerpts:

About the poll prospects of the Sena-BJP
The voters are fed up with the Congress-NCP. The government has failed on almost every front. Industrial progress has come to a standstill because of the power deficiency. Agriculture growth has been come down to 2% in Maharashtra, whereas it is 16% in Gujarat. The government has no vision. It knows only one thing — corruption. There are scams in wheat, fodder, land selling... everything. I fear that there will not be any table or chair left in the Mantralaya when we return to power. The government will sell them off too. The people know all this. Their anger will reflect in the voting machines.
 
But the Congress-NCP did well in the Lok Sabha polls
The difference in votes gained by the Congress-NCP and the Sena-BJP was just 2.8%. In the LS polls, we lost nine seats by the slimmest of margins. The MNS’ presence helped our opponents. But now, the voters have realised that only the Congress-NCP will gain if they vote for MNS.

Your strategy for the polls
No negative campaigning. We will not be just blaming our opponents. We have great plans for development. We have prepared a blue print — Maharashtra Vision 2020. We have plans to rid the state of malnutrition and power cuts. We will increase irrigation facilities, will provide 50 lakh jobs to the youth in five years.

About the intra-party feud at the Centre
The BJP is not a weak party. The infights in New Delhi are over, and we are united in Maharashtra. The media highlight the infights in the BJP rather than the fights between Congress and the NCP.

About the differences with the Shiv Sena
We do not have any differences. The seat deal with the Sena will be finalised soon. We will have a joint manifesto.

How will you choose candidates
We will give tickets to young and educated people. But the ability to win will be the main criterion.