For BJP leader Gopinath Munde,the 45 degrees Celsius heat of Marathwada cannot be more scorching than the political skirmishes he has been in last year,including a dramatic resignation from all party posts and a quick turnaround after being placated. Contesting from Beed parliamentary constituency for the first time,the 2009 general elections are an important milestone for Munde,now the BJPs face in Maharashtra. Having sulked over his detractors ascent,he now has a point to prove. How can you say I am angry with the party? the 59-year-old leader demands. I am attending 105 sabhas this election,in 26 BJP constituencies and 10 of the Shiv Sena,its more than anybody else in the party. This is a new role for Munde,though he has been campaigning for the BJP across the state since 1980. Pramodji hain nahin,thats why I am attending 105 sabhas. I would otherwise have done 70 or 80. Back in the late 1960s,Pramod Mahajan was Mundes senior and close friend in college in Ambejogai,Beed. Both were closely involved in student politics and with the RSS. Now,as the BJP fights its first general election without Mahajan,the five-time legislator is trying to claim the political void left by Mahajans death as rightfully his. Pramodjis loss has hurt the entire country,as well as Maharashtra. He was a great planner and strategist. And he would implement those strategies 100 per cent. He was our best campaigner,so that loss is there. But there is a new,young generation of campaigners in Maharashtra, he told The Indian Express,naming Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray,his chief detractor in the state BJP Nitin Gadkari,the chief ministers of eight BJP-ruled states and Narendra Modi,who is visiting 20 of the 26 constituencies where the BJP is fielding candidates. He is a star campaigner, he says,referring to the Gujarat CM. Aur main bhi hoon (And so am I). With exactly a week to go before campaigning closes,he is still busy lobbying for other candidates,including in Madha,Pune and Baramati. In his own constituency,close confidants and daughter Pankaja are handling his campaign,though he will address a huge rally in Ambejogai on Friday. Munde dismisses talk that his face-off with Gadkari could slowly be creating a Brahmin-OBC divide in a cadre-based party not known much for caste fissures. The BJP is the only party where the cadre works for certain thoughts and ideals,not for people, he insists. He was,however,upset when Mahajans daughter Poonam did not get a ticket,he admits. I felt very sad. But I am not angry. They are two different things. His own constituency is a 100 per cent cakewalk,he says. The new Assembly segment added to his constituency is Georai,with a BJP MLA. Of the remaining,four have BJP legislators too,not to mention that about 80 per cent of Beeds urban local bodies,the zilla parishads and the district cooperative banks are currently controlled by the BJP. The Sena-BJP won six of Marathwadas eight seats last election. This time,there will be a tough fight for Nanded and Osmanabad,but we will take the rest, he says. Rapid Fire •On the governments handling of the slowdown: Our PM can only do what he is directed to. He is not a PM,he is a GM. He is very knowledgeable but he will do only what he is instructed to. This is an Italian company and the PM is its GM. Since 1952,the RBI has declared a credit policy once every six months. Only once. This year,we have declared six policies in six months. There is too much volatility due to this. •On Maharashtras top challenges: Shortage of electricity,scrapping of the monopoly cotton purchase scheme and its impact on cotton farmers,deteriorating law and order,terrorism,crimes against women and Dalits. •On Pravin Mahajans alleged tell-all book on Pramod: I dont want to react because I am an important witness in the case. His appeal is pending in the HC. As a leader,I can make statements now,rebut what has been written. But my hands are tied by the law. Ill talk in court. But defaming dead people is not correct.
