Mumbai:

BJP star campaigner Yogi Adityanath’s “Batenge toh katenge” slogan, at the forefront of the party campaign in Maharashtra, is not only making its allies squirm, it is also causing deep discomfort among a section of BJP leaders, which has been voiced by Pankaja Munde and Ashok Chavan. Among allies, Ajit Pawar, the leader of Nationalist Congress Party, has already shared his misgivings, saying while such slogans may work in the north, it is not appropriate for Maharashtra, the “land of saints and followers of Shiva”.

The “Batenge toh katenge (Division is destruction)” slogan, which the Opposition alleged has communal overtones, has already been tweaked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Ek hai toh safe hai,” PM Modi had said earlier this month, repackaging its message of unity. 

But it did not forestall a gusher of disapproval from party leaders and allies. 

Pankaja Munde, daughter of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, was the first to speak up. 

“Frankly, my politics is different. I won’t support it just because I belong to the same party. My belief is that we should work on development alone. A leader’s job is to make every living person on this land as our own. Therefore, we need not bring any such topic to Maharashtra,” she said yesterday.

Today, Ashok Chavan, who switched from the Congress to the BJP in February in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election, made his stance clear.

“There is no relevance of this (slogan). Slogans are given at election time. This particular slogan is not in good taste and I don’t think people will appreciate it. Personally speaking, I am not in favour of such slogans,” he told news agency Press Trust of India.

Then it was the turn of Ajit Pawar, who did not mince words either. “I am not supporting it. I have said this several times. It will not work in Maharashtra. This may work in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, or some other places,” said the nephew of Sharad Pawar, whose undivided party enjoyed considerable support among the Muslims.

The Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, apparently, is also wary of the slogan’s potential to consolidate the minority vote in favour of the Opposition and diffuse the message of development and welfare on which its government has been working hard. Any leader of his party, though, is yet to go on record on the matter.   

Today, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made an attempt to explain the issue, saying Pankaja Munde and Ashok Chavan have failed to grasp the “core meaning” of the slogan, which is actually a message of unity.

“Batenge to katenge is a counter-narrative to the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi’s divisive campaign, and the core message of the slogan is that “everyone has to stick together,” Mr Fadnavis said during an interaction with the media.

The Opposition MVA, meanwhile, is hugely enjoying the ruling alliance’s discomfiture. 

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has asked the BJP to choose between Yogi Adityanath’s “divisive” slogan and PM Modi’s call for unity. 

“While Yogi says, ‘Batenge toh katenge,’ Modi introduces the conflicting slogan, ‘Ek hain toh safe hain (If we’re united, we’re safe).’ You decide between yourselves whose slogan should be followed-Yogiji’s or Modi’s?”

NCP’s Supriya Sule said the party that broke parties has itself got divided. “They are in two minds in the BJP. On one side Devabhau says one thing and on the other side ally Pankaja Munde says something else… We will have to ask Devabhau how did this become 50-50?” she said.  

Shaina NC, who is contesting on a Shiv Sena ticket, accused the MVA of tweaking statements. “MVA is spreading a false narrative… MVA is deliberately cutting some statements of our leaders and spreading a false narrative. MVA does not know what the context is. These people are talking dirty”.

BJP’s Kirit Somaiya said, “Yogi-ji has said that if we are divided, we will be divided. Modi ji is saying that if we are united, we are safe. We are saying vote jihad for a reason. We are just warning people against vote jihad. All BJP leaders are saying the same thing. Some leaders’ statements have gone wrong, but everyone’s fight is the same”.

Nanded (Maharashtra):

BJP MP and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan has said the slogan “batenge to katenge” is not in good taste and irrelevant and the people will not appreciate it.

In an interview to PTI on Wednesday, Mr Chavan also said he doesn’t attach much importance to the “vote jihad – dharma yuddha” rhetoric, as the BJP and ruling Mahayuti’s policy is development of the country and Maharashtra.

Notably, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Yogi Adityanath has been raising the slogan of “batenge to katenge” (divided we fall) in his rallies ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls.

Asked about it, Mr Chavan said, “There is no relevance of this (slogan). Slogans are given at election time. This particular slogan is not in good taste and I don’t think people will appreciate it. Personally speaking, I am not in favour of such slogans.” “Every political functionary has to take a decision after a lot of thinking. We also have to see that nobody’s sentiments are hurt,” the BJP leader added, while speaking at Ardhapur in Nanded during his election campaign for the Mahayuti.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis last week said “vote jihad” should be countered by “dharma-yuddha” of vote.

Asked if the poll campaign was drifting away from the issue of development amid the “vote jihad-dharma yuddha” narrative, Mr Chavan said the Mahayuti and BJP’s policy was Viksit Bharat and Viksit Maharashtra, as spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I don’t give much importance (to vote jihad rhetoric). Personally speaking, development is my only agenda. Therefore, people appreciate my stand despite me changing the party,” said the parliamentarian, who joined in BJP in February this year after a long association with the Congress.

On claims that the Maratha reservation issue affected the Mahayuti’s prospects in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, Mr Chavan said the government has taken decisions with respect to the quota issue.

“The Maratha quota impact was more in the Lok Sabha elections. Many decisions after the Lok Sabha elections were taken by the Shinde government, like 10 per cent reservation; those who had Kunbi certificates were granted reservation. People also got jobs (through quota) and cases (filed against people during quota agitation) were also withdrawn,” he said.

The Maharashtra legislature in February this year unanimously passed a bill providing 10 per cent reservation for the Maratha community in education and government jobs.

However, activist Manoj Jarange has been demanding Maratha quota under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Mr Chavan said Mr Jarange’s decision to neither contest the polls nor support any party was his individual move as he thinks he has the target only to facilitate reservation to the people of his community.

“I have also met him and assured that the Mahayuti will think of the demands once it comes to power again,” he said.

He said the election environment is good and there is enthusiasm among people.

“We had rally of central minister Jyotiraditya Scindia (on Wednesday) and people were present in good numbers. The prime minister also came here and the (poll) fever has also gone up. The schemes launched by the state government are also implemented. So there is a good response from the people and our (Mahayuti) candidates will come out with flying colours and a good margin,” he said.

On how many seats the Mahayuti will win in the 288-member assembly, Mr Chavan said he has visited some parts of the state but not all.

“We will reach a comfortable majority to form government,” he added.

Asked about his switch over from the Congress to BJP, Mr Chavan blamed those in the grand old party for his suffering during the political episodes from 2008 to 2010.

“I don’t want to talk much because it is history now. I think whatever decision I have taken is in the interest of my career,” he said.

Notably, the Adarsh housing scam in Mumbai led to Mr Chavan’s resignation as the state’s chief minister in 2010. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)