Interview: Congress dreaming that it will do well in tribal region, says MP CM

Four months into becoming the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mohan Yadav finds himself leading the BJP into the Lok Sabha elections in the state. With the party targeting a clean sweep of all 29 seats, he tells HT that the BJP is far from worried after the first two phases and that the voting percentages are dropping because of an alleged lack of enthusiasm from the Opposition. Edited excerpts:
You are facing a Lok Sabha election in a state where your party seeks to win all 29 seats, four months after you became the chief minister. Are you nervous?
What is there to be worried about? The leaders of the INDIA bloc should be worried. This time, even Chhindwara, which they won in 2019, will go out of their hands. This time there will be a clean sweep. As far as I, or any other BJP worker is concerned, we are ready to face every task, situation and challenges.
After becoming the chief minister, you visited Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, and addressed a Yadav Mahasabha in Uttar Pradesh. Has the BJP found a Yadav face in you?
The BJP never does caste politics and for us, people of all castes and religions are the same. As far as going to other states is concerned, every member of the BJP works, and wherever the party orders, that is where we visit. The BJP is an organisation that always focuses on preparing new leadership and gives them a fair chance to prove their capability. Bringing in three new chief ministers, including me, is part of the strategy. In that way, the BJP is unlike the Congress that has a leadership crisis at the state and the national level. They made Mallikarjun Kharge the party president at this age because they had no option. They launch Rahul Gandhi, a man that does not know what politics is, every election.
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Since the second phase, why has the BJP made the redistribution of wealth, ‘mangalsutra’, and alleged re-diversion of OBC quota to Muslims the primary issues?
This should be answered by the Congress. Rahul Gandhi first talked about the economic survey and after that, his advisor and guru Sam Pitroda commented on redistribution of wealth, which was criticised thoroughly by voters. Gandhi then backtracked. In the BJP, if our guru says something, we put our hearts into fulfilling it but in the Congress, there is no respect for anyone. They neither respect their words nor the people.
The voting percentage has fallen in Madhya Pradesh in the first two phases. Why are voters not coming out? The Congress says the BJP is losing ground.
That assessment is laughable. It is the Congress which is losing ground as their core voters and workers are disheartened and unenthusiastic. In the absence of a strong Opposition, they (people) are not taking any interest in the elections.
But Congress leaders say they will win half the seats, and do very well in the tribal belt.
The Congressmen are day-dreaming and have little to do with reality. Who can stop them from dreaming? In the assembly elections, they claimed they would win 150, but didn’t even win half of those. It was Modi ji’s magic that worked in the assembly and his magic will work in the Lok Sabha too. I am giving you this guarantee that our tribal brothers and sisters will give the Congress the most comprehensive reply.
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Many Congress leaders have joined the BJP, and the Opposition has alleged that they were either lured or pressured by the government. How will you accommodate them?
Have the BJP leaders who joined the Congress or any other party also been lured? These are all fabricated stories. Why would anyone stay in a party that has no policy, no vision, and where there is no respect. The Congress is a sinking ship on which nobody wants to stay a long time.
Will bulldozer justice continue in Madhya Pradesh?
I did not start it, but in extreme cases, we will teach criminals a lesson when it is legal to do so. Like in Guna, when a man abducted, raped and tortured a woman, his illegal home was demolished after due process.
The Madhya Pradesh government has a debt of over ₹4 lakh crores. How will you deal with this?
We have said before that no public welfare scheme running in Madhya Pradesh will ever be stopped. If we have to take a loan for the betterment of the state and the welfare of the people, then we are ready for that and we will pay it back.