Vidarbha will see a flurry of activity in September as two national leaders will be visiting the region to take stock of the situation there. While Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will visit the region in the latter half of the month, his visit will be preceded by that of NCP chief and Union agricultural minister Sharad Pawar’s.
The visit of the two leaders in Vidarbha has significance due to two reasons: the demand of local politicians for a separate state on the lines of Telangana and that farmers are unhappy with the government for not doing anything for them on losing their crops to floods.
Mr Sharad Pawar’s visit gains significance as not a single NCP leader has toured Vidarbha till now. The visit by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar after the floods recently was lost on the public as it was organised hastily and lasted only one day. The presence of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on the same tour further negated the effect of Mr Ajit Pawar’s presence.
Now, with the Union agricultural minister visiting the region from September 14-16, farmers will be looking forward to him announcing special packages for them.
Mr Gandhi will also be touring Vidarbha from September 21-23. According to Congress leaders, Mr Gandhi will be kicking off internal elections in the party’s Vidarbha unit. He is also expected to visit certain regions in Vidarbha and Marathwada, especially the drought-hit villages and meet farmers to listen to their grievances.
The visit by both the leaders are being perceived as a shot in the arm for local Congress and NCP leaders who feel it will go a long way in pacifying the aggrieved farmers and disgruntled politicians.