BJP leaders to meet party's central leadership over Vidarbha

Maharashtra BJP President Devendra Phadanvis along with other leaders will meet party's top brass in Delhi to apprise them of the sentiments of the people in Vidarbha and press to club the issue of separate statehood, with the proposed Telangana Bill.

'We have decided to call on our party leaders in Delhi tomorrow and insist on combining the Vidarbha statehood issue with that of Telangana by moving an amendment in Bill for separate states,' Phadanvis said here today.

We are seeking appointment with party leaders who are already in the national capital for the monsoon session of the Parliament, including party chief Rajnath Singh, senior BJP leader L K Advani, Gopinath Munde and Sushma Swaraj among others, he added.

Phadanvis will be accompanied by his immediate predecessor Sudhir Mungattiwar and former party MP Banwarilal Purohit along with sitting BJP MLAs Sudhakar Deshmukh, Nana Patole and others.

BJP's alliance partner Shiv Sena is against formation of Vidarbha but Phadanvis has already wrested this initiative.

The party in its national executive committee meet in Bhubhaneshwar in 1992 had passed a resolution for creation of separate Vidarbha. Now, it is supporting the formation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.