Bhupender Yadav: 'Polls being fought under the leadership of Fadnavis'

Shiv Sena is free to express its views and the desire of having its own chief minister but Maharashtra election is being fought under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and it has been conveyed to the allies, BJP general secretary and in-charge for the assembly polls Bhupender Yadav said.

'Election is being fought under the leadership of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis'

Responding to questions about Shiv Sena leaders'' remarks that there will be a Maharashtra chief minister from their party in the future, Yadav said political parties are free to talk about their desires. "Every party can talk about its future and express its desires. But this election is being fought under the leadership of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis. It has been cleared to the entire alliance," Yadav told PTI. On the issue of seat-sharing, he said the BJP believes in a politics "where there is role and space for its allies". And this is visible in the government at the Centre where despite getting a thumping majority, the BJP has given representation to its allies, Yadav said underlining that Shiv Sena is a very old and natural ally of the party. He expressed confidence that the BJP-led alliance which includes Shiv Sena and some small parties will come back to power with a thumping majority.

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'The BJP-led alliance is in a strong position'

"The BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra is in a very strong position and will get a three-fourths majority in the state assembly elections," he said. Talking about Maratha reservation, Yadav said the party believes in the all-round development of the society, unlike the opposition parties in the state which aimed for growth of one specific segment of society or region. “The BJP has always supported reservation under the ambit of the Constitution. The reservation was required as there was inequality in the state, which happened as the state was ruled by the Congress for so many years," Yadav said.

On the question of leaders from other parties joining the BJP, Yadav said those who come into the party without compromising its ideology help in “social and geographical expansion" of the organisation. He claimed that continuing with the same chief minister for the full term, which is rare in case of Maharashtra, is also working in favour of the party and there is a "wave" in favour of the BJP-led alliance.

Yadav, a key strategist of the party, has been its in-charge in various assembly elections which the party won including in Rajasthan in 2013 and Gujarat and Jharkhand in 2014. He had also played a role in the party's massive victory in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. However, in Bihar, the party lost the 2015 assembly elections to the alliance of JD(U), RJD and the Congress when he was the in-charge.

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