Will return with bigger mandate: Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would return to power in the state with ‘unprecedented’ mandate after the Assembly polls.

Mr Fadnavis, whose ‘Maha Janadesh Yatra’ had reached in Pune on Saturday, told reporters, “Wherever we go, the yatra is being welcomed by people and getting a huge response. Looking at the people’s support, we are sure that we will get an unprecedented victory in the Assembly polls.”

Two days ago, he had stated the Assembly polls were just a formality and the BJP-Shiv Sena’s victory was a foregone conclusion. “It will be impossible to dislodge the BJP in Maharashtra for another 25 years,” he had declared.

Meanwhile, Mr Fadnavis said that his ‘Maha Janadesh Yatra’ — in its third leg — has so far covered over 3,000 kilometre and reached out to at least 100 out of 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra.

Taking a jibe at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) protest in Baramati against his yatra, Mr Fadnavis jokingly asked whether Article 370 had been imposed in the Pawar family bastion to disallow other parties from holding rallies there.

“Will it be okay if our party workers create ruckus at public meetings held by Sharad Pawar. Is Article 370 imposed in Baramati or is Baramati separate from Maharashtra?” he asked jokingly.

NCP workers alleged that the police had lathi-charged them when they shouted slogans during Fadnavis’ mass outreach campaign in Baramati on Saturday.

“How many workers were present? There were only seven of them. So, is there any need for police to resort to lathi-charge?” he asked.

Mr Fadnavis added that the BJP will always help Opposition parties to hold rallies in its strongholds.

"Ultimately, we live in a democracy, and in a democratic system, everybody has the right to hold public meeting,” the chief minister said.