'People voted for separate Vidarbha'

NAGPUR: With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) falling short of a clear majority in the state assembly election, supporters of statehood for Vidarbha are expecting a harder road ahead. Though the state government won't directly come in the way of separate Vidarbha, the dynamics of an impending coalition government will play its part in achieving statehood, feel Vidarbhavadis.
"It appears that our road has just become a bit harder, it won't be a cakewalk. It is not a very happy situation for us pro-Vidarbha people," said PKB Chakraborty, core committee members, Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti.
Jan Manch president Anil Kilor too feels that the fight for Vidarbha will be a bit tough now. "If BJP had won a clear majority things would have been different," he said.
Even though some believe it will be difficult, many feel the verdict, especially in Vidarbha, has been very significant. "The fact that people in Vidarbha have voted for BJP, which has said it supports statehood, shows that they also want the state. And the government formation won't make a huge impact as it is the Centre that takes decision on new states," said Mukesh Samarth, president, Vidarbha Connect.
Founder president of V Can Shrihari Aney said that the fact that BJP did not include statehood in its manifesto did not make much of a difference as the Centre would deal with the subject. "The Vidarbha movement will now depend on the ally BJP chooses. If NCP, then the movement can be as it is now, but if Sena, then the movement will have to be more vocal and visible," he said.
He added that a lot would depend on who becomes the chief minster. "If it is someone who is sympathetic to the cause of Vidarbha, like Fadnavis or Mungantiwar, it will be smoother," Aney said. But Chakraborty felt that not including statehood has hit BJP. "If they had, they would have won more than 50 seats here," he said.
"There is no doubt that Vidarbha will be a separate state in future, the election results show that. The people of Vidarbha, while voting for BJP voted for a separate state of Vidarbha," said Pravin Mahajan, general secretary, Navrajya Nirman Mahasang, Vidarbha.