Vidarbha statehood issue to be part of NDA agenda: BJP

BJP on Saturday said the statehood of Vidarbha would be a part of the NDA's common minimum programme for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, but admitted it differed with its alliance partner Shiv Sena on the issue. "There are differences between the two parties on the issue of a separate Vidarbha. We are in favour of separate Vidarbha state. Our stand is very much clear," BJP's Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

"The issue of separate statehood to Vidarbha would be part of our (NDA's) common minimum programme," he said. Sena has advised the NDA partners to keep the contentious issue on the back-burner. "Shiv Sena is committed to united Maharashtra and will never allow it to be bifurcated," Sena MP Sanjay Raut had said.