‘Batenge toh katenge’ slogan divides Mahayuti days ahead of Maharashtra polls

It may sound ironical, but Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s popular slogan of ‘batenge toh katenge’ (if divided, we perish) seems to have caused a division in the ruling Mahayuti alliance days ahead of voting in Maharashtra on November 20.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s remark that there is no place for “batenge toh katenge” slogan in Maharashtra has drawn flak from his colleague Devendra Fadnavis who said Pawar’s understanding of the slogan was still influenced by his former allies.

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Counter-narrative to MVA campaign

Fadnavis claimed that Pawar as well as his own BJP colleagues Ashok Chavan and Pankaja Munde had failed to grasp the slogan’s “core” meaning.

‘Batenge to katenge’ is a counter-narrative to the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi's divisive campaign, and the core message of the slogan is that “everyone has to stick together”, Fadnavis said.

“Ajit Pawar stayed with such ideologies - which are secular and anti-Hindu - for decades. There is no real secularism amongst those who call themselves secularists. He stayed with people for whom opposing Hindutva is secularism. It will take some time for him to understand the mood of the public,” said Fadnavis.

Discomfort among allies, own leaders

The slogan sparked discomfort among a section of BJP leaders and allies who are working together in the Maharashtra government, which was evident when Ajit Pawar recently said, “I’m not supporting it. I have said this several times. It will not work in Maharashtra. This may work in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, or some other places.”

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Pankaja Munde, daughter of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, said that her politics is different and she won't support it just because she is from the same party. “A leader's job is to make every living person on this land our own. Therefore, we need not bring any such topic to Maharashtra,” she has said.

Ashok Chavan, who joined the BJP in February after resigning from the Congress, said that the slogan has no relevance and is not in good taste. “I don't think people will appreciate it. Personally speaking, I am not in favour of such a slogan,” he said.