We will not project anyone as our CM candidate: BJP

JP general secretary Gopinath Munde is keeping his options of returning to the state politics open. Although he is keen on continuing as an MP, he says he will follow the party’s orders. BJP’s election campaign chief for the state talks to Kiran Tare. Excerpts from the interview: 
 
Why is the BJP not projecting anyone as its leader?
 In Gujarat, Narendra Modi is the only leader. In Maharashtra, we have an ally in the Shiv Sena, which has a leader in Uddhav Thackeray. In the BJP, however, I have able colleagues like Nitin Gadkari, Eknath Khadse, Pandurang Phundkar and Vinod Tawde. We have therefore decided not to project anyone for the chief minister’s post.

 Why is the BJP confident of winning?
 The people are fed up with the non-performance of the Democratic Front government. Forty two percent of Maharashtra has been urbanised and the people have to struggle to cope with the rising inflation. People in the state pay the maximum for petrol and diesel in the country. Also, Maharashtra is a victim of terrorism. When we were in power, not a single riot took place in the state. But now, riots are breaking out even during the festivals.
 Will the delay in seat-sharing decision affect the party?
 We made the announcement on seats sharing two months before the Lok Sabha election. The result was that we lost. We have asked probable candidates to begin their campaign. 
 Is the Sangh parivar involved in your campaign?
 The Sangh parivar does not take part in the planning of the campaign. But, we have taken all the local Sangh workers into confidence. We are trying to get the parivar’s support for our manifesto. We will also take their suggestions in finalising candidates.

 How do you look at the third front?
 We cannot ignore the third front. It will break the Congress-NCP’s traditional vote bank
of Dalits and Muslims. The Dalits and Muslims vote for }them because they do not want the Sena-BJP. But the Congress-NCP has insulted the Dalits and Muslims by not giving them their share of power. But I am not sure how the third front will benefit the Sena-BJP.
Are you keen on returning to state politics after results are declared?
 I would like to continue working as an MP. I will follow the party’s orders after the poll results.