The issue of Vidarbha has rocked both houses of Maharashtra legislature. Work has been stalled in the Assembly as well as Council from Friday as Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP want a clarification from the Chief Minister regarding the demand of statehood for Vidarbha. The trigger was a BJP MP from Bhandara in Vidarbha, Nana Patole, who moved a private member’s Bill in the Parliament demanding statehood for Vidarbha. The Bill hasn’t even come up for discussion in Delhi, but it has raised the political temperature of the monsoon Session in Mumbai.
Shiv Sena, which vehemently opposes breaking of Maharashtra, is an ally of the BJP, which had been at the forefront of the Vidarbha state campaign. BJP, however, did not include the statehood issue in its manifesto for Assembly elections held in late 2014 as it would have hurt the party in rest of Maharashtra. So, when the issue was suddenly brought up again by the BJP in Delhi, miffed MLAs of Shiv Sena shouted pro-Maharashtra slogans inside Assembly, only to be countered by pro-Vidarbha slogans raised by BJP MLAs from the region. Finally, Chief Minister had to make a statement, which didn’t take either side.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar have all been vocally supporting the Vidarbha movement. Despite that, the BJP has decided to keep the Vidarbha issue on the back burner for 3 reasons:
Why then is a BJP MP bringing up the issue now when it can hurt his own party? We spoke with three experts, one in Mumbai, second in Nagpur and third in Delhi. They all indicated at the internal politics and cold war between Gadkari and Fadnavis.
You may remember, Shrihari Aney, who was close to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, had to resign from the post of Advocate General as he had taken an extreme pro-Vidarbha stand. Now ahead of the local polls in Mumbai, where BJP plans to showcase work done by Fadnavis, the Opposition is embarrassing the ruling party by putting out old, pro-Vidarbha speeches of BJP leaders. Congress MLA Nitesh Rane tweeted an old video of Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, where he fiercely demands statehood for Vidarbha.
The Quint also spoke with Nana Patole, who said he didn’t discuss the issue with any senior party leader before moving the private member’s Bill in Parliament. It is interesting to note that the Congress and the NCP have chosen to back Shiv Sena on the issue of Vidarbha. So, the state BJP is facing a mammoth opposition of all the three parties together.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)