BJP silent on Vidarbha

TT, Mumbai, Oct 10: The BJP manifesto for next week’s Maharashtra elections has skipped mention of a separate Vidarbha state, but party leaders insisted it continued to support creation of smaller states for better governance.

Drishtipatra (vision document), the 31-page manifesto released today five days before the October 15 vote, focuses on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s themes of good governance and development that includes infrastructure, economy, employment, security, health and social justice.

Asked why a separate Vidarbha found no mention in the manifesto, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said: “The manifesto speaks about various issues. Some aspects may have been excluded, but that does not mean they cannot be included later.”

Bhandari said the BJP’s policy of encouraging smaller states for better governance was well known, and the party was consistent in its stand. “This Drishtipatra is about what we are going to do in the next five years.”

Asked whether it meant a Vidarbha state would not be a reality in five years if BJP came to power, Bhandari said: “It does not mean so, and it is not written here (in the manifesto) that we would not do so.”

The BJP’s reluctance to spell out its position ahead of the polls apparently stems from the apprehension that it could impact votes in Vidarbha.

The state unit was caught off guard by the Prime Minister’s recent statement that Maharashtra would never be divided till his government ruled at the Centre.

Modi had made the remarks at a rally in Dhule in response to persistent claims by Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of former ally Shiv Sena, and MNS boss Raj Thackeray that the BJP planned to divide Maharashtra and carve out Vidarbha, undermining Marathi “asmita (pride)”

“Is there anyone born who can divide Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s Maharashtra? Till I am in Delhi, I assure you that no power will be able to break Maharashtra,” Modi had said at the Dhule public meeting.

The statement sent state leaders into a tizzy. Maharashtra BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis was forced to clarify that “what the Prime Minister has said was about apprehensions being expressed about separating Mumbai, not Vidarbha”.

“Our stand on smaller states is well known and we will talk about it at an opportune time,” Fadnavis added.