Lok Sabha Elections 2024: ‘No Chavan, no VBA, but will still win,' says Vasantrao Chavan Patil

Pic/Nimesh Dave

This is not my election, but a common man's election. The common man in every sphere and sector is suffering due to inflation, unemployment, and law and order. All communities are suffering. Voters will vote for their future. They saw that in the last ten years, they got nothing. Congress candidate of the Nanded constituency, Vasantrao Chavan Patil said in an interview.

Why will the people of Nanded vote for you?
Nanded voters recognise my achievements. I come from a humble background. I served as an MLA for 10 years and an MLC for six. I worked for the district cooperative bank. This bank was generating losses, I changed the situation and now this bank is in profit. As a former sarpanch, my community trusts me and the Congress party. With the support of Shiv Sena and NCP, we have a strong coalition, earning the faith of Nanded's electorate. This election is about the people who have endured hardships over the past decade.

Vasantrao Chavan Patil is confident of getting votes from all communities. Pic/Nimesh Dave

This time, Ashok Chavan has joined the BJP. Will it impact the Congress?
No, definitely not. Some workers have left the party, but it will not impact me or the Congress. Ground-level party workers are with the party. Voters are with the party. This has been a Congress district. If you look at history, very few candidates of other parties have been elected as MP in the Nanded constituency. In the last 10 years, voters did not get anything, and in the last five years, the law and order situation of Nanded is in bad condition. I will work on that so that people will feel safe in this district, like before.

Will the Marathas, the traditional vote bank of the Congress, vote for the party this time?
Yes surely, as they saw, the reservation issue has not been resolved. The Maratha community is a traditional voter of the Congress. They are with us. The BJP-led government doesn't keep its promise.

Why will the Maratha community vote for you?
Not only the Maratha community, but all communities will vote for us. The Congress has assured them that after coming into power, we will conduct a caste-based census. We will cancel the 50 per cent limit of reservations. After that, the Maratha community can easily get reservation.

Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi is again in the race. Last time, the Congress got a setback due to the VBA candidate. What is your take?
Now people know voting for the VBA means voting for the BJP. This time AIMIM is not with VBA, so the Muslim community, which is in huge numbers, will not vote for VBA, but for Congress. During the village meeting, we are receiving support from the Muslim and Dalit communities. These communities will vote for Congress. I belong to a family that never believes in differences in communities.

The current government claims to have a vision of development.
This government calls itself the Modi Government. What is this? We never heard of a one-man government. In the past, we heard Bharat Sarkar. What kind of vision do they have? Be if farmers, businessmen, women or the youth, not a single sector of society is happy now. They are suffering. Our party assures employment to the youth and financial help to women. We have a plan for the farmers and businesses. They want 400 Paar, why? They want to change the Constitution.

Irrigation and employment are major concerns. The youth is mainly migrating due to unemployment.
In the past 10 years, the issue of employment has become more serious not only in this constituency but also across the country. I will work to strengthen infrastructure, which allows the settling of industries in the district. I will focus on a small irrigation project that can solve the issue of water in the district. There is a need for development of agriculture and industry in the district. I assure citizens that I will work on that and also on the law-and-order situation at large.

10
No. of years Vasantrao Patil has served as MLA