Pune Assembly Polls: I Have A 25-Year Vision For Khadakwasla, Says MNS Candidate Mayuresh Wanjale (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) | FPJ Photo
Mayuresh Wanjale, son of the late Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLA Ramesh Wanjale, is contesting the November 20 Assembly polls from the Khadakwasla constituency in Pune. The 25-year-old attended The Free Press Journal’s ‘Vision for Pune’ event on Thursday, where he answered every question with great calm and composure, covering topics from urban infrastructure and traffic woes to mental health and environmental degradation.
Below are the excerpts from the conversation:
Q. What is your vision for Khadakwasla?
A. Traffic is the biggest problem in my constituency. The administration has repeatedly failed to address this issue, which is very frustrating for me personally. The first thing I would do is work to improve traffic flow by removing illegal encroachments on the roads. The police need to penalize these encroachers heavily so that this problem does not arise again and discipline is maintained. The second problem that Khadakwasla faces is the water crisis. My vision is to make this constituency water tanker-free. There are four dams near Khadakwasla but there is still a water crisis in the region. I would increase the storage capacity of these dams and satisfy the thirst of the people in this area.
Q. What is your party’s stance on keeping a balance between environment conservation and urban development?
A. I’ve participated in several tree plantation activities myself. In my friend circle, we have a tradition of planting trees on our birthdays. Talking about urban development, I am a civil engineer and I can say that the infrastructure in Pune is outdated. Besides, the public representatives themselves have no idea of sustainable development, so what can we expect from them? We need an educated public representative who has a blueprint and a roadmap to balance environment conservation and urban development. Most of the candidates that our party chief Raj Thackeray has given this time are well qualified. If you see, the administration is only indulging in corruption these days in the name of development. Thackeray has repeatedly said that he has seen Mumbai being destroyed over a period but Pune won’t take that long as it is small. We need to take serious precautionary measures. We have already reached the end, there is only mass destruction beyond this. If we don’t wake up now, it will cause huge havoc for each one of us.
Q. What is the exact ideology of your party? Is it for the Hindus or only the Maharashtrians?
A. Our party believes in taking everyone along. Thackeray’s views are on the lines of Sant Tukaram and Sant Eknath. We have been fighting for Marathi manus and will keep fighting.
Q. You are carrying the legacy of your father forward. Did you not feel to be associated with any of the bigger parties?
A. My father began his career at the MNS. To be very upfront, I don’t think any of these bigger parties have the vision that Thackeray has. We just need one chance to prove ourselves and bring the change. Talking about the other parties, this time too I had received opportunities from them but the love that I have for MNS and Thackeray is bigger than anything else. I want to complete the unfulfilled dreams of my father for the people of Khadakwasla and it can only be done with the support of a visionary leader like my party chief.
Q. What is your opinion regarding mental health problems in today’s youngsters?
A. Thank you for asking this important question. Many youngsters are facing mental health problems today. After being elected as an MLA, I promise to build dedicated counselling centres. These problems can only be solved by having heart-to-heart conversations.
