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The Rediff Interview/ Vilasrao Deshmukh

'We must become No 1 again'

In his 25th year in politics, Vilasrao Deshmukh has finally got the seat he has always coveted. But will he be allowed to function? Caught in the crossfire between his leader Sonia Gandhi and his alliance partner Sharad Pawar, can the new chief minister of Maharashtra be his own man? Or will he walk the tightrope forever? Excerpts from an interview in which Pritish Nandy discussed these questions with the new CM:

You have eventually got the job you always wanted. For years you have been a top contender for the chief minister's post but always got pipped to it. Now that you have finally got the job, what do you see as your immediate priorities?

This is, as you know, a coalition government. There are other partners. My priorities, frankly, cannot be fulfilled unless everybody agrees with them. So we have to work on the basis of a minimum common programme. Not priorities that I set or would like to set. Running a coalition government means adjustment, aligning one's own wishes with those of others.

Have you evolved a political consensus as yet? Your minimum common programme?

We all have our own agendas, our own manifestos. We fought the elections independently and now that we are together we must create a common action plan. Work on that has already started. But it will take time. It is not an easy task.

But to answer your first question, my immediate job as I see it is to win back the confidence of the people of Maharashtra. Specially the farmers, the labourers, the minorities, the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the VJNT. We want to send them a clear message: This is your government. They have been feeling neglected over the years. That feeling I want to change. I want to tell them: We are for you. We will see that your interests are protected. This is the first message I would like to give the people of Maharashtra.

What do you specifically intend to do for them?

We actually cannot do very much because of the financial position of the state. We realise that. So we are coming out with a white paper. We would like the people of Maharashtra to know where we stand with our current financial position. You see, Pritishji, when there is a change in government the expectations are always very high. So we want to let the people know what is possible, what is not. They must know what is the legacy we have inherited. So that they can bear with us and try to adjust with the situation.

Apart from the restoration of confidence of these target groups you are politically addressing, are there some specific and important tasks your government intends to focus on? What would be, say, your first three such tasks?

First: Law and order. We must restore law and order all over the state and particularly in Mumbai city. Two: We must make Maharashtra once again the top industrial destination of India. We must bring back more investors, more industrialists to this state. We must become No 1 again. Not in terms of statistics and figures but in real terms. More and more people must want to invest in Maharashtra and do business here. Our pre-eminence will otherwise diminish. Three: We must focus on IT. Information Technology is the business of the future and Maharashtra must not lag behind.

These are my three priorities and I am sure we can go ahead on these fronts.

What are the specific opportunities you would like to offer IT companies so that they leave Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to invest here?

Whatever help and assistance they need from us we are willing to provide. Secondly, we want to roll out the red carpet for all those who want to invest in Maharashtra or set up industries. We are about to name a person, a senior government official who will do continuing liasion between the government and the business community.

For IT projects only or for all projects?

For all projects. IT will of course remain the top priority area but we are interested in attracting all kinds of projects. We want to be No 1 again. It is no use claiming that Maharashtra is No 1 in industrialisation. Numbers and statistics mean nothing. Look at real investment. How much has the business community actually invested in the state in recent years? How many factories and plants have been built? How much money has come in? We need to address these questions honestly. We must resolve the problems that the investing community faces in the state. The state must stretch out its hand to suppoort those who come here to se up businesses and factories. After all, it is our need also. We need more jobs in the state.

Actually unemployment is our biggest problem. Not only in Maharashtra but all over India and, unless more industries are set up, more investments are made, people will not get jobs. And unless there are enough jobs, political instability will grow.

The Union finance minister has already said that the second stage of economic reforms will escalate unemployment but the government can do nothing about it. We have to bear it with a grin.

That is the problem. But it is still possible to change this with the help of new industries like IT which have enormous potential for harnessing human skill and talent. We need the youth to be trained in this area. That is why I intend to focus on IT in Maharashtra. It will provide jobs to thousands of young people.

Why IT alone? India has the potential to become a full-fledged knowledge and entertainment economy. Yet our banks and financial institutions, our political leadership is driving it in exactly the reverse direction. Why don't you change that? Why don't you make it easier for industries like news, entertainment, TV, movies, music, publishing, the Internet to get quality money and infrastructure? Maharashtra has a headstart in most of them.

That is exactly what I want to do. That is on top of my list of priorities. For 25 years I have grown and matured in Maharashtra politics, from a village sarpanch I have finally become chief minister of the state. This is like an anniversary gift to me. I must now try and live up to the expectations of the people. I know that in a coalition government you are never actually free to do what you want but that will not stop me from trying. From trying to do my best.

Is it possible for you do anything under the circumstances? Aren't there too many pulls and pushes?

It is not easy, I concede. But I will try. That is my job.

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