In the midst of the election campaign, Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday predicted that the Congress is set to secure over 100 seats, exposing the lie of those who are talking of anti-incumbency. "I can talk of the Congress. We will cross the 100 mark," Mr Deshmukh, who is the star campaigner of the Congress, told this newspaper.
Mr Deshmukh, who has created a record for remaining the chief minister for the longest time after the late Vasantrao Naik, has been feverishly campaigning all over the state and is much sought after speaker known for his wit and humour.
He said the feedback is in favour of the Congress. "The trend set in the Lok Sabha polls will continue. We have not done any thing which can anger people. Besides, about 55 per cent of the electorate, which comes under the age group of 18-35, will play a major role in this election," he said.
When his attention was drawn to the price rise, he felt it is an issue but one cannot ignore that farmers were getting better prices for their foodgrains in rural areas while in urban areas, poor people are getting foodgrains at the subsidised price through fair price shops.
Mr Deshmukh is addressing five to six election meetings on an average per day. He said the Congress’ seats in the Marathawada region would be double this time (from seven in 2004 to 15 this time) and in Vidarbha the party will perform well in Gadchiroli, Gondia, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Nagpur, besides Mumbai and adjoining districts.
Asked if it is because of the MNS factor, he said that the Congress did well in Mumbai in 2004 when Mr Raj Thackeray was in the Shiv Sena. He said the Congress has always been strong there because of its inclusive policies.
While conceding there are issues concerning people he said, "We cannot resolve them 100 per cent but we are sincere in our efforts."