'Sacrificed Javadekar for Athavale to please Sena'

BJP general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra and member of Rajya Sabha is one of the new generation leaders, urbane and amiable, who engages in politics with a touch of lightness. In an interview with dna's Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr at his Shahjahan Marg residence in New Delhi, Rudy spoke about the Shiv Sena-BJP ties, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, the crumbling Congress-NCP cookie, and the fall and fall of Nitish Kumar in his home state of Bihar.
Excerpts from the interview:

How is the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance doing?
It is going extremely well. Shiv Sena is a trusted ally. When Sena wanted to accommodate Ramdas Athavale of the Republican Party of India, we conceded though in the process we had to sacrifice our national spokesperson (Prakash Javadekar). Sena chairman Uddhav Thackeray is a gentleman and his political instincts are sharp. It has been a pleasure interacting with him.

Is the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) a spoiler?
Yes. It is. The BJP would have liked that the cousins (Uddhav and Raj) were united. But it is their problem. The BJP remains with the Shiv Sena and there is no question of going with the MNS. Raj Thackeray — I also know him well — is taking hard positions to make a place for the MNS.

How important is Maharashtra for the BJP in this Lok Sabha election?
It is very important, along with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These three states account for 168 seats (UP- 80; Bihar: 40; Maharashtra: 48), and the BJP hopes to do well in them. I expect that the Sena-BJP alliance would capture up to two-thirds of the 48 seats. The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance is crumbling. There are charges of corruption and non-governance.

What will constitute the poll plank — is it the performance of the state governance or that of the central government?
It is the poor performance at the state and central levels that will decide the election that will go against the Congress and the NCP. The first blow will come in this election, and this will be followed in the assembly election due next year.

You have been made in-charge of Maharashtra? Was it a challenge to handle this big state?
I am grateful to president Rajnath Singh that he reposed confidence in me and entrusted me with this responsibility. Two senior leaders like Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari lead the party in the state. And there is a bunch of young bright leaders like Devender Fadnavis and Vinod Tavde, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Eknath Khadse who constitute a formidable group. I am from Bihar. I do not belong to Maharashtra. I do not want to be the face of the party in the state, appear on the TV channels. I am a facilitator for the smooth functioning of the party and the NDA.

How does it look like in Bihar?
This election will witness the isolation and eclipse of Nitish Kumar. It is his arrogant attitude that is undoing him. And it is for this reason that people from Janata Dal (United) are joining the BJP. NK Singh, the man who had been a key advisor to Nitish, has left the party and he will be joining the BJP. Nitish will be reduced to the level of Lalu Yadav. He will be marginalised. The problem with Nitish is that he thinks that any worthwhile idea can only come from him.