As the “Batenge toh Katenge” slogan takes center stage in the Maharashtra assembly polls, Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has distanced himself from it, instead endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Ek hai toh Safe hai” slogan. The controversial slogan has drawn widespread criticism from opposition leaders, who allege it carries communal undertones.
“I have expressed my disagreement on this (‘Batenge toh Katenge’) in public rallies and media interviews. Some BJP leaders have also expressed the same. ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ means together with all, development for all… Now, ‘Ek hain toh safe hain’… I see it from this angle,” Ajit Pawar said in an interview.
Expressing his displeasure, Pawar remarked, “We immediately said that this is not Uttar Pradesh. It must be going on in the North, not in our Maharashtra.”
However, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who is allied with Ajit Pawar’s NCP under the Mahayuti banner, defended the slogan in a separate interview with ANI.
“I don’t see anything wrong in Yogi Ji’s slogans. Look at the history of this country. Jab jab bate hain, tab gulam bane hain. Whenever this country was divided into castes, states, or communities, we became slaves. The country was also divided, and so were the people. That’s why if we divide, we will be cut. This is the history of this country,” Fadnavis stated.
“And I don’t understand that if someone says ‘don’t divide,’ then what is the point of objecting to this?” he added.
The campaigning has intensified for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, with both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) making concerted efforts to win over voters. The Maharashtra assembly elections are slated for November 20, with counting scheduled for November 23.
Ajit Pawar, speaking about the election campaign, emphasized his party’s focus on securing maximum votes for the Mahayuti alliance.
“I am a member of the alliance, and we are involved in it. Our intention is to win as many votes as possible for Mahayuti, and we are going according to that,” Pawar said.
He further highlighted the efforts of his party, mentioning the work undertaken and the plans introduced in recent months. “The work we have done, the plans we have brought… You must have seen that in about 2-3 months, I am going through Maharashtra via Janh Samman Yatra. We have only one goal—the Mahayuti government should come back,” Pawar stated.