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.
There’s no proposal for a separate Vidarbha state before us. Carving out small states is a subject handled by the Centre.Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, Maharashtra
Cold war between Gadkari and Fadnavis?
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:
- BJP government needs support of Shiv Sena, a party that runs high on Maharashtra sentiment.
- BJP doesn’t want to be on the backfoot ahead of crucial elections in Mumbai, Thane and Pune next year, where pro-Maharashtra sentiment is strong.
- BJP is the only major party that has supported Vidarbha movement, so it has no competition even if it postpones the Vidarbha issue.
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.
First of all, a private member’s Bill (brought by Patole) is not a big thing. But interestingly, Narayan Rane, who enjoys good relations with Gadkari, took it up in Parishad (Council) and then it all started. So, there’s a scope to say that Gadkari did this to trouble Devendra Fadnavis.Rajiv Khandekar, Executive Editor, ABP Majha
Nana Patole, who started it all in Delhi, is a known Gadkari supporter. Everyone knows the cold war between Gadkari and Fadnavis. When he says something he has Gadkari’s backing. Going against the party’s present line, he dared to raise the issue. He may also want to present himself as the first Chief Minister when Vidarbha is formed.Prashant Koratkar, Editor-in-Chief, Majha Vidarbha, Nagpur
The more Fadnavis stabilises, the sadder Gadkari is. The politics is simple, Gadkari wants to destabilise Fadnavis with the help of Patole. Although BJP’s party line is for smaller states, Fadnavis has to run the government with Shiv Sena. So, pro-Vidarbha stand will ultimately prove to be a headache to Fadnavis at this moment.Ashok Wankhede, Senior journalist, New Delhi
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.
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