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The Rediff Interview/Prataprao Bhosle

'Sena-BJP will hand over Maharashtra to us on a platter'

Prataprao Bhosle, the new Congress boss in Maharashtra, is the best thing to happen to the party that once ruled the state and is now in bitter exile. He is a quiet, unassuming leader from the hinterland and brings with him years of experience as both an MLA and an MP.

Can he heal the party now torn apart by dissension and revolt, aspiring to overturn the ruling regime in the coming elections? Can he cope with the machinations of the Pawar loyalists who are hell-bent on unleashing a proxy war in Maharashtra? An interview with Pritish Nandy.

Why did you make such a dramatic statement by removing Sharad Pawar's photograph in the Congress office on the very day you took charge? Were you sending out a specific message to Congressmen in the state?

No, Pritishji, I am not a man like that. My compulsions are different. I know where to begin, where to go. These kind of distractions are irrelevant. I do not need to send our messages like this. It is sufficient that I was asked to take charge. I did. The message has gone out that the values that the Congress once stood for will now be revived. Isn't that enough?

I come from a very poor, very simple farmer family. I do not understand the complexities of modern day politics. For me, the Congress is the nation's lifeline. My family and I played a small, humble role during the freedom struggle and we can never forget the importance of the Congress in building today's India. So, if I can revive the party in Maharashtra, as is my mandate, I will be very happy. For I am confident that a strong Congress can win the next elections in this state.

But how can you have a strong Congress when everyone in the party is fighting everyone else? There is too much of dissension, intrigues, too many personal scores being settled.

Yes, I believe so. But, tell me, you know these things better than me, isn't that inevitable in a party as big and as complex as the Congress, with such a rich tradition of leaders who have espoused different points of view? Do you really expect such a party to be monolithic, unidirectional? Do you think it is possible? If you ask me, it will be a miracle. If I can make it move together and fight as one cohesive party in the coming elections. But that is not the issue. My impression is that the Sena and the BJP will hand over the state to us on a platter.

Why? What has gone so seriously wrong during the past few years of Sena-BJP rule that you see the state being handled over to you a platter?

These rulers have lost touch with the people of the state. The poor, the dispossessed, the ordinary people have lost faith in their ability to govern Maharashtra in a manner that protects their interests. Prices have risen to a point where no one can cope. The agricultural sector is languishing. No one is happy. Neither the city people nor the farmer. No one is confident any more about their ability to govern. People must have faith in the party ruling the state. They have lost that faith and it will take them years to regain it.

And you believe that your leader Sonia Gandhi can restore that faith?

Yes, she can. And she has. For the traditions of the Congress are simple and endearing. I want to bring them back. The normal politics of the past. I am a simple man, a simple worker of the party, I understand simple, swabhabik things. No one, frankly, expects me to do earthshaking things or play the flamboyant politics of my predecessors. I deeply respect the institution and I will do my very best to revive it by bringing back its simple traditions, its direct appeal to the people of this state. And whatever happens, I assure you one thing, the next government in Maharashtra will be formed by the Congress.

Will your own friends, associates and party members allow that to happen?

They have no choice. They must fall in line or lose everything. In fact, if you ask me, they will do it by volition. They may say a hundred things today but they all know exactly where they stand. If they don't fall in line, they will fall by the wayside, however powerful they imagine themselves to be. That is why, Pritishji, I don't expect them to play games this time. Whatever the temptations may be, they will eventually consolidate and strengthen the party in time for the next elections. I know that. So why should I do petty things like removing someone's picture from the office? What will I gain by such a churlish act?

You may not have. But someone else could have removed that picture to create a spat between you and Sharad Pawar?

I do not know who could have done that. I have asked people to find out if that is true. But, if you ask me, I think this is all kite flying. People are deliberately trying to derail the real issues before the party and make this into a confrontation between people and egos. This is not so, believe me. The party is anxious to revive itself. It has no time for such power struggles, for such silly, childish games. We have a man-sized job ahead of us and I am trying very hard to attend to that. I am no big leader. I am not capable of playing all these big games. There is this job I have to do and I am doing my very best to do it well.

In loktantra, the people are paramount and we have to be humble. Humble enough to understand what they want, what they want us to do. In this guesthouse I meet hundreds of people every day, who come to see me not because they want anything from me or the Congress. They come to me because they want to offer themselves. Their time, their energy, their commitment to the party. That is how I know what will happen. That is why I am predicting a resounding victory for the Congress in the next elections.

When the people who constitute a party stop expecting things from the party and are interested, instead, in contributing their best to it, you can be sure that things are changing for the better.

So you see a culture shift in the Congress?

Certainly in Maharashtra. Yes, I do. Congressmen here have become more reasonable, more understanding, more hard working. They have stopped grabbing power. Instead, they are ready to wait. To wait out this regime and come to power on their own steam. That is the big change. That is what I expect will make the big difference. That is what I expect will power us to victory irrespective of who plays what game in the Congress.

The fact is that we are, once again, returning to our roots. To the simple, swabhabik politics of the past when the real issues before the people always came centrestage at election time. This will happen once again, when we go to the hustings this time.

Do you see the Congress at the Centre soon?

I have no idea. But I certainly see the Congress in Mantralaya ( seat of administrative power in Maharashtra) after the next election. That is the task before me and I am confident that it will be fulfilled. No one can stop that. Not even our own Congressmen.

The Rediff Interviews