Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar admitted Saturday that the momentum the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) got after its success in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra — it had won 30 of 48 seats — may have been affected by populist schemes rolled out subsequently by the Mahayuti government.

In an interview to The Indian Express on his campaign trail in Nanded, Pawar, however, asserted that the people of Maharashtra were looking for change which, he claimed, would drive the MVA towards a majority in the November 20 Assembly elections.

In the Lok Sabha, Narendra Modi was aiming at an absolute majority. The issue of changing the Constitution harmed him. Especially the weaker section rejected the idea in totality. Second, Mr Modi’s approach towards minorities (was a factor). After polls, Mr Modi had to depend on Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu as he failed to win a majority. That was an indication that people were unhappy with Mr Modi and his policies. Maharashtra, too, saw the Opposition winning a higher number of seats. This is the backdrop for the current Assembly election.

I can’t say now. Because, after that election, the government has used all its machinery extensively and it has taken a number of populist decisions like Ladki Bahin by giving money and trying to change the atmosphere. It may have some effect as per our colleagues.

But I must tell you about one incident. While travelling, I stopped to talk to 15-20 women working in a field and asked them whether they have received the money and are happy about it? The women said they did get the money, but this government is giving money from one hand and taking it out from our pockets with the other as prices of everything have increased so much. That’s the general sentiment. In addition, farmers and unemployed youth are being given the money. So the government is targeting different sections differently.

My observation is, the public wants a change. And if that feeling continues then we will get a clear-cut majority. Secondly, our MVA alliance of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray and us, is working well everywhere except in a few constituencies. Except for 10-11 seats out of 288, our workers are working together in coordination.

We have decided not to finalise a single name. After elections, if we get a majority, the party among our partners, which gets higher seats, will decide at that time.

Mr Jarange-Patil has taken a sensible decision of not contesting the election and that will definitely benefit the Opposition. Also, along with his demand for reservation, he has also issued a statement in support of Muslim and Dhangar reservation. That means he has expanded his horizon and spread his base. It has also created a feeling that he is not against OBCs.

Yes. It looks like this.

I have seen Haryana and have been there. There were too many candidates from Congress, a lot of Independent candidates and there were rebellions. Initially, we expected this here as well. But most of them have withdrawn.

The situation of vanchit (today as compared to) five years ago is not the same – they are not likely to have that much of an impact.

The statement from Chhagan Bhujbal has proven it. We all saw it yesterday. Money and agencies are being used against us. I can give you an example. My daughter is a Member of Parliament for the fourth term. Whenever she attacks the government, her husband gets a notice from Income Tax. In fact, my brother’s daughters (Ajit Pawar’s sisters) have faced raids. The Central government has misused the agencies even against my family. This is the election where we are seeing the absolute misuse of power and government agencies which we have not seen ever in the past elections.

Practically speaking, cotton and soybean farmers are facing serious issues. Prices have dropped, the cost of cultivation cannot be recovered. That’s why these farmers are extremely unhappy. It is not correct when the government says that the distribution of money has satisfied the farmers. In fact, even in the case of sugarcane, there is a demand from the national federation regarding the minimum support price and also about Ethanol which are not being fulfilled. This means even this assure- income crop is facing a problem. By and large, be it cotton or soyabean or sugarcane, the farmers are in trouble.

It shows the communal approach of the ruling party. In the last election, there were four-five BJP leaders who talked about changing the Constitution. Now with this, it exposes the real approach of the government.