Gujarat will vote in two phases on December 1 and 5 to send 182 MLAs to the state assembly.The BJP has no competition in Gujarat, Union Minister Piyush Goyal announced at the India Today Conclave Mumbai.“We will win Gujarat with record seats this time. 149 seats-win was the highest so far and secured by the BJP.
This time we will cross 150 seats,” Goyal said. Gujarat will vote in two phases on December 1 and 5 to send 182 MLAs to the state assembly.“PM Modi enjoys such popularity in India and in Gujarat that people have made up their minds. Their backing is solid behind the party,” he added.
Speaking about the entry of AAP into the electoral ring in the state, the minister said, “The people of Punjab are regretting their decision now. The people of Gujarat are intelligent. They have business acumen and make well-considered decisions.
I am not saying this out of arrogance. I have been to the interiors. The mood on the ground is complete adulation for PM Modi and they are looking for the BJP to continue to be in power.”
ON PROJECTS LEAVING MAHARASHTRA
“Mumbai is the financial capital of the country. Everyone sitting here knows that a project isn’t approved in days. A massive amount of studies go behind each project. Investment decisions go through a rigorous process that includes the study of the overall situation, the political atmosphere, stability, concession, and incentives to name a few.
We don’t have the time to respond to these allegations daily. You need this debate to ensure TRPs,” Goyal said.“None can compete with Maharashtra. From 2015 to 2019, the state was number 1 in FDI. It was 1.5 times of what the next four states put together.
No one can take the state behind,” Maharashtra’s deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.“The world is looking at India. I was speaking to a few CEOs this week when I asked them why they were not considering Maharashtra.
They said that the state had no political stability, there was a lot of corruption, and there was no ease of doing business. They claimed they had to deal with commissions to ministers of three different parties separately. So these things took the state backward and now Fadnavis ji will have to work with twice the vigour to fix it,” Goyal said.
“Since 2014, we have been saying that we believe in competitive federalism, collaborative federalism and cooperative federalism. If all the states and Union Territories are a part of this competition, only then will the country progress.
As for the narrative, you have several anchors who are trying to create an anti-Modi narrative. They have gone till Madison Square to do that. Unfortunately, the country too has made a narrative and that is in Modi ji’s favour. The country trusts him.”
Devendra Fadnavis also responded to the allegation: “The people who are crying about industries leaving are the ones who had protested against and stalled the Green Refinery Project - one of the biggest investments that were to come to India.”
“It was a 60 million tonne refining facility. There is not one facility like that in the world as of now. Because of the good relations between PM Modi and Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, they had agreed to put in $100 billion.
Everything was ready when Devendra ji was chief minister. The MVA government came in, began creating obstacles and ruined the entire project. We are now trying to revive the project and have a meeting with them on November 14. But given the experience they had in the last three years, they are still scared to invest here,” Goyal said.
AADITYA THACKERAY’S CHALLENGE
On Day 1 of the Conclave, Aaditya Thackeray challenged the 40 rebel MLAs to resign and fight the election. He offered to resign and contest as well. Reacting to it, Goyal said, “Politics doesn’t run on dialogues. The CM has a backlog of three years. Let him work in peace.”
Devendra Fadnavis, however, said, “You were elected in a pre-poll alliance with us. Then you went ahead with the NCP and the Congress. Why didn’t you resign, contest again and then form a government? The 40 people who came with us were a part of the alliance that had fought the election. They are in a natural alliance.”
“Doors are always open in politics. But the combination will remain the same - Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and the BJP. If some others want to join us, they are welcome,” he added.
“You can’t just walk into the BJP. One has to undergo strict scrutiny before being inducted into the party.
If there are good people, for example, if you, Rahul Kanwal, are willing to join us, we will definitely induct you. We are looking for good people in the party. The BJP’s doors are never permanently shut for anyone. We are always looking for good people so that we can serve people better,” Goyal said.
DEVENDRA FADNAVIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN MAHARASHTRA CM
The BJP’s decisions are made keeping in mind what is good for the country, Piyush Goyal said. “Nitish Kumar’s party was also a junior party in Bihar. But we made him the chief minister.
The workers, supporters and leaders of the Shiv Sena wanted to exit the unethical coalition. The real Shiv Sena came out and wanted to form the government. We just supported them. Devendra Fadnavis and I were talking every 10 minutes at that point in time.
It is his greatness that he didn’t discriminate based on positions. He didn’t hesitate even for a second and accepted the party’s decision. This discipline helps us do our job better,” he said.
“The preparation had been on for a long time. Since 2019, members of the Shiv Sena would meet me and request me to somehow forge an alliance and get them out of the coalition. They have been behind us since 2019.
I had said before the media after the Rajya Sabha election that this unethical government’s time is up. The people are frustrated, the MLAs are frustrated, and the MPs are frustrated,” Goyal added.
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