Bharatiya Janata Party president J.P. Nadda spoke to The Sunday Guardian amid a busy election campaigning day. While leading a rally of the party, Nadda spoke about the BJP’s chances in West Bengal and the ongoing “scandal” in Maharashtra. Excerpts:
Q: Three phases of the election are now going to be over. How confident is the BJP about wresting West Bengal?
A: More than us, it’s the people of Bengal who are confident and have decided that BJP will cross the 200-mark in the state. They have decided to vote against the corrupt, inept, violent and dismal rule of Mamata Banerjee. Look at our rallies, people have come out in this heat in such large numbers and that certainly sends the message that the BJP will cross the 200-mark in Bengal.
Q: Last time around, the BJP was a nobody in the state; now it’s the biggest threat to the ruling government. What is the reason behind this?
A: We had, under the leadership of Amit Shah, made our strategy and put a lot of our plans to action on the ground. We have shown what we can offer to the people of Bengal. We have 18 Lok Sabha seats in the state and we will only grow from there.
Q: There is an audio clip that has gone viral of the TMC that you have termed as “cut money”. What do you have to say about that?
A: Syndicate governance, cut money, corruption etc. are all part of the TMC and such skeletons will keep tumbling out of their closets.
Q: Talking about Maharashtra, the High Court has handed over the Param Bir Singh matter to the CBI. What do you have to say about that?
A: I had said it 2-3 years back that unholy alliances lead to unholy deeds. This is just the result of all of that. You can’t expect mangoes if you’ve planted a banyan tree.