BJP state election incharge Prakash Javadekar said political winds in the south have changed. The former Union minister, in an exclusive interview with TNIE’s Navya Parvathy, expresses confidence in BJP’s prospects for victory in the polls.
Excerpts:
The BJP seems to be very confident in Telangana. How has the response been on the ground?
People feel betrayed by both parties. They are one and the same. Therefore, they are looking for a fresh alternative. They have seen Modi perform for 10 years. Modi has given 50 lakh Mudra loans in Telangana. Rajiv Gandhi used to say that when he would send Rs 100, only Rs 15 used to reach people. When Modi sends Rs 100, all of it reaches people’s accounts.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has given the nod for disbursement of Rythu Bandhu assistance for eligible farmers. Do you think this will influence the voters?
I don’t think so, because people understand whom to vote for and whom not to vote for. These last-minute adjustments don’t work.
The BJP has been vocal against freebies in all states. However, in the manifesto for Telangana, several such promises have found a place. How do you view this?
Entitlement and empowerment are different. Giving laptops to poor college-going girls is not a freebie, it is helping their education. Giving Rs 2 lakh at the time of birth of a girl child, which will be redeemed at the age of 21, is empowerment. It makes her learn more, it makes her live a life of dignity. We are giving something for a cause.
Do you think the BJP lacks strong faces in the southern states?
I am in charge of Kerala and I am very sure that we are winning five Parliamentary seats at least. In Tamil Nadu, Annamalai (BJP Tamil Nadu state president) is attracting huge crowds, which BJP has never seen before. Therefore, things will definitely change.
What do you think would be the impact of the five poll-bound states on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls?
People in India vote differently for different elections. In 2018, we lost everything —Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. But we became winners in the Parliamentary elections in the same states. This is how things are going to happen.