Maharashtra Congress Vice President Mohan Joshi, in an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, asserted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — an alliance consisting of the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) — will secure a resounding victory in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. Joshi, a former member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC), will not be running for office himself. However, he has pledged to campaign for the MVA candidates, especially in Pune. He also highlighted that several politicians are eager to secure a ticket from the Congress party after its impressive performance in the recently held Lok Sabha polls, where the party secured 13 seats in the state, 12 more than it won in 2019.
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How many seats will Congress contest in Pune?
There are six Assembly segments within the Pune Lok Sabha constituency, and if we consider the limits of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), there are a total of eight Assembly seats. We have assessed the political situation in all of these eight seats and are confident that we can win all of them. Therefore, I can confidently say that Pune will play an important role in the MVA coming to power in the state. In 2019, Congress contested three seats — Kasba Peth, Shivajinagar, and Pune Cantonment. However, this time around, our strength has increased, and we are demanding more seats. But it’s important to note that whichever party within the MVA gets to contest, the other parties in the alliance will campaign for that particular party and its candidate.
Lok Poll survey shows MVA crossing the magic number of 144. How do you look at it?
The people of Maharashtra have made up their minds to bring the MVA back to power. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deceived the people, and they now understand that Congress is a far better option than the saffron party. They won't tolerate the way the BJP broke parties and families to regain power. The first response to this kind of politics was given to the BJP by the people in the Lok Sabha polls, and the final answer will be delivered in the Assembly elections. Additionally, we have conducted an internal survey that indicates Congress will emerge as the single-largest party in the state, with 80-85 seats. Our alliance members have also conducted a survey showing that the MVA will win around 180-185 seats out of the 288 in the state.
Has the seat-sharing talk between the MVA partners reached a conclusion?
The first round of talks for the Assembly seats in Mumbai has been concluded. In the next two to three days, discussions will be held for the remaining seats in Maharashtra. However, it is very clear that Congress will contest the majority of these seats, as we secured the most seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The remaining seats will be divided between Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). There is no tussle between the MVA partners regarding seat-sharing.
Will the 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' have an impact on the Assembly polls?
The ruling Mahayuti (BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP combine) introduced the 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' just a few months before the elections. If they truly cared about the women in the state, they would have implemented it much earlier. They have been in power for the last 2.5 years, so why now? It was only after several surveys indicated that the MVA was making a comeback that the Mahayuti decided to implement this scheme as a last resort to attract women voters. However, they must understand that there is a significant difference between the people of Maharashtra and those of other states. The people of Maharashtra are cultured and literate; they can discern the intentions behind such moves. Women understand that the ruling government doesn't care about them; they only care about staying in power.
From traffic congestion to flooding, Punekars are facing several issues, but there is nowhere to complain as there isn't an elected corporation. Do you think Punekars will vote in this Assembly election keeping these issues in mind?
The biggest problem in Pune is traffic congestion, but the ruling government isn't concerned at all. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Pune metro rail project in 2016. However, even after eight years, the first phase isn't fully completed. Also, look at the condition of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML). Given Pune's population, we need 8,000 buses, but how many does PMPML have? Just 1,600! The bus shelters are in a dire state, and in some places, they are non-existent. The construction of the Shivajinagar bus depot project is nowhere in sight. They built a new airport terminal, which was completed several months ago, but since PM Modi wasn't available for the inauguration, it wasn’t opened. When it was finally inaugurated, operations didn’t start because some work and appointments were still pending. If the work was pending, why was it inaugurated in the first place? The same situation applies to the railway stations in Pune. Flooding in the city is another concern. Earlier, floods used to occur very rarely, but under this regime, Punekars went underwater four times in one monsoon. This shows how the BJP has always given step-brotherly treatment to Pune, despite Punekars electing them repeatedly. Their agenda is only publicity and advertisements.
Do you think the crime rate in Pune has increased recently?
Pune is Maharashtra's cultural capital and has long been known as a peaceful city. However, under the BJP, it has become a hub for drugs. After the Porsche crash in May this year, the administration began taking action against bars and pubs. However, the situation has returned to normal, and all these establishments, which they initially declared illegal, are operational again. Additionally, if you look at the records from the last five years, there has been a murder almost every day in the city. I won't hesitate to say that criminals are no longer afraid of the police, and this occurs when corruption rises. When the MVA comes to power, our first priority will be to make Pune 'Pune' again.
