Confident of win in J’khand, Maharashtra but ‘watchful’ of Haryana-like ‘mischief’: Ramesh

PTI New Delhi: The Congress is confident of securing a decisive mandate in Jharkhand and Maharashtra but is “extra watchful” to avoid a repeat of any Haryana-like “last-minute mischief” by the BJP and the local administration, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said on Monday. In an interview with PTI, Ramesh said the decision on the chief ministerial face of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra would be taken after the November 23 results and expressed confidence that the selection of the alliance’s chief ministerial face would be a “smooth affair”.

As the campaign heats up for the assembly polls in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, Ramesh dismissed suggestions that the momentum had shifted away from the INDIA bloc following the Congress’ defeat in Haryana and said the alliance was confident of securing a decisive mandate in the two states. “It is true that the result in Haryana was unexpected as far as the Congress is concerned. We are confident in Maharashtra where we have a very strong alliance, and we are very confident in Jharkhand where also we are fighting in an alliance,” the Congress general secretary in-charge communications said. “We are confident but we are extra watchful, we don’t want a repeat of the Haryana situation in all the last-minute mischief that can be played by the BJP and the local administration. We are more watchful (this time),” he said. The Congress has a positive agenda in Jharkhand and the alliance is running on the five years of achievements of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress government, he said.

In Maharashtra, the MVA government was destabilised by the BJP after about two years and the Mahayuti government ruled for three years, he said. Ajit Pawar and several other MLAs broke away from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by his uncle Sharad Pawar and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state last year. Shinde led section of Sena MLAs rebelled against leadership of Uddhav .