Need not bring slogans like batenge toh katenge to Maha, my politics is different: Pankaja Munde
Mumbai: As the Maharashtra Assembly elections are just around the corner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ramped up its campaign with the slogan ‘batenge toh katenge’ (If divided, we perish), deployed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, which has sparked a political row. However, BJP MLC Pankaja Munde has voiced strongly that she will not support such slogans although she belongs to the saffron party.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Pankaja stated that her politics is different. “I won’t support it just because I belong to the same party. My belief is that we should work on development alone. A leader’s job is to make every living person on this land their own. Therefore, we need not bring any such topic to Maharashtra,” she said.
Pankaja, Munde added UP CM Adityanath used the slogan “in a different context and in the political situation of that land”. She cleared that the meaning of the slogan is not what they are using in Maharashtra.
Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been using the slogan "Ek hain toh safe hain" (Together, we are safe), which his rivals argue is merely a rephrasing of the same idea.
Ajit Pawar suggested last week that the politics represented by slogans like “Batenge toh katenge” will not work in Maharashtra. “I have said this many times that it will not work in Maharashtra. It may work in UP, Jharkhand or other places,” asserted Pawar.
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BJP dreaming to win polls with money power: West Bengal BJP MLA after bypoll loss
Kolkata, Nov 23: As the ruling Trinamool Congress swept the by-elections in six assembly seats in West Bengal, Kurseong's party MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma attacked the state leadership, saying the party dreams of winning polls with money power and that it sidelines legislators and gives "unnecessary importance and responsibilities" to MPs.
The TMC retained five of the six seats it had previously won during the 2021 polls, while wresting the key Madarihat seat from the saffron camp in north Bengal’s Alipurduar district.
In a Facebook post, Sharma alleged, "The BJP runs a membership drive in West Bengal over the phone from a Kolkata office, while party leaders turn a blind eye to factionalism within the party. The party sidelines MLAs and gives unnecessary importance and responsibilities to MPs. It dreams of winning elections relying on money power. Despite having no shortage of political issues in the state, it centers its politics solely around religion."
"The BJP accuses opponents of corruption while carrying Adani and Ambani on its shoulders. It tries to undermine the rights of the indigenous population by luring Bangladeshi Hindus with promises of CAA. It halts MGNREGA funds and indulges in such tactics, hoping to win elections in the state," he alleged.
On the other hand, the BJP MLA lauded TMC saying, that the ruling party in the state, armed with 26 different "pro-poor schemes" such as Kanyashree Prakalpa, Gitanjali Housing Scheme, Krishak Bandhu Scheme, Nijo Griha Nijo Bhumi, Rupashree Prakalpa, Shishu Sathi Scheme, and Student Credit Card, quietly works at the grassroots level.
"Now, you decide who will win the elections. I have never seen a culture of self-criticism within the BJP; otherwise, this outcome wouldn't have occurred," he added.
Since the 2021 assembly elections, the TMC has won every by-election, except the Sagardighi bypoll in March 2023, which was won by a Congress candidate who later switched to the TMC.
With this victory, TMC's tally in the 294-member state assembly rose to 216, further consolidating its position. The BJP's tally, on the other hand, dropped to 69, from 77 in 2021.
