After setting a record for himself and the Bharatiya Janata Party by becoming only the second (and first non-Congress) Maharashtra chief minister to complete a full five-year term, Devendra Fadnavis is on a state-wide yatra seeking a second term. mid-day caught up with him during the Nanded-Latur-Solapur leg of his Mahajanadesh Yatra, just before he got party boss Amit Shah's approval as the chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming polls.

You are being compared with some great leaders in terms of political acumen and hard work. What will you tell those who said you will not last a full term?
My friends describe me as a tortoise that clears hurdles on its way and walks steadily to reach its goal. In the past five years, I took everything in my stride with a positive approach and learned to work in crisis situations. I didn't allow negativity to affect my resolve. I found solutions to challenges and tried to correct past mistakes without compromising the interest of the state. Other party leaders find solution for a problem by creating another big problem; they keep communities and various stakeholders fighting to divert attention from real issues. As far as comparison with great leaders is concerned, I'm not as clever and my acumen isn't as great. I worked as per the template given by my leader PM Narendra Modi — work for the people. All my decisions were for public, not individual, good. I draw unending inspiration from Modiji who has given us a legacy to carry forward. Every time I encountered a crisis, I worked hard to find a permanent and sustainable solution and my top leadership stood behind me. But I don't claim to have found solutions to all of the state's problems. There are many that need our attention, and problems will continue to crop up. So far, I have been fairly successful in pushing growth in both urban and rural areas. My next big aim is to free the state of perennial drought-like situation. I want farmers to contribute a great deal to national growth.