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In the exclusive conversation, Fadnavis also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of ‘Ek hain toh safe hain’ was a game changer for the Maharashtra elections
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. File pic/PTI
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who spoke exclusively with News18 journalist Amish Devgan after taking the oath of office on Thursday, said he called up several top state leaders, including political rivals Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.
“They responded well,” he said. “They congratulated me.”
Fadnavis, who is forming a government with a brute majority, said he will not judge the opposition on their numbers. “I will also listen to their issues,” he told News18.
The last five years were full of challenges, said Fadnavis. “Even after getting mandate in 2019, Uddhav ji backstabbed us…We fought for 2.5 years and all our allies that time stayed with us,” he said. “I never took money for any posting and I have cordial relations with everyone.”
Fadnavis though launched a searing attack on Congress MP and Lok Sabha’s leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi. “The shop named Bharat Jodo that has been opened is only for chaos…What Rahul Gandhi and the opposition are doing is that they are only questioning constitutional bodies. You have the Constitution book in your hand and are questioning all constitutional bodies,” Fadnavis said. “They want to bring anarchy…The red diary that he has in his hand has blank papers…It’s a Naxal book in his hand…Rahul Gandhi’s script is being prepared by anarchists. After the Bangladesh unrest, what was their first statement? They said that such things will happen in India also.”
Fadnavis said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of “Ek hain toh safe hain” (If we are united, we are safe) was a game changer for the Maharashtra elections. “With this, the entire society came together. Whatever polarisation happened in Maharashtra after that, people realised that we all must come together,” he said.
Fadnavis, who had raised the issue of “vote jihad” while campaigning, said it was “counter-polarisation” by his side.
“The way Uddhav and Sharad Pawar ji bowed down in front of Ulema Board’s 17 demands…Sajjad Nomani was openly talking about jihad, then I said there will be vote jihad,” the CM said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader also tore into the opposition for casting doubts on electronic voting machines. “When they win, they don’t speak against EVMs, but after losing any election, they start crying against EVMs,” he told News18. “In Jharkhand, EVM is good for them; here it is bad? EVM battery issue was also proven in court. Instead of questioning EVMs, if they start doing introspection, it will only benefit them.”
The people of Maharashtra have been backing Narendra Modi since 2014, said Fadnavis. “In (2024) Lok Sabha election, some narrative went against us, and we were not fully prepared for it,” he added.
On the matter of government formation in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “We are three parties, and we must discuss and decide on issues…There is no inordinate delay in the formation of government…I don’t think that (Eknath) Shinde ji was angry on any issue. During a meeting in Delhi, he conceded that ‘you have more MLAs, then CM should be from your party’.”
