The BJP supports statehood for Vidarbha, said Nitin Gadkari.

With the BJP under fire over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that "no power can split Maharashtra", senior party leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today reiterated that the PM was referring to Mumbai and not Vidarbha."They are saying Modi wants to take Mumbai away from Maharashtra. There is no one in India who can take Mumbai away from Maharashtra," the PM had said at two rallies in poll-bound Maharashtra yesterday.The BJP ideologically supports the statehood demand for Vidarbha and PM Modi's comment was interpreted by some sections - including the Congress - as a U-turn on the issue. It left the BJP red faced and state BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis had promptly issued a clarification. The PM, Mr Fadnavis said, was referring to Shiv Sena charges about Delhi's designs to "split Maharashtra and control Mumbai".But that had not stemmed the tide of criticism. It had even raised anxiety for statehood movements in other parts of the country - Bundelkhand and Gorkhaland - since the BJP has been pushing the cause of small, manageable states for over a decade.Today, addressing a rally in Amravati's Morshi district, Mr Gadkari said, "Modi was referring to Mumbai when he said Maharashtra will not be split. Modi didn't say that Vidarbha will not be created".The BJP's stand on Vidarbha is "well-known," Mr Gadkari said. "We support separate statehood for Vidarbha."

Mr Gadkari, who is from Nagpur, a key city in Vidarbha, is trying to win as many as possible of the 62 assembly seats in the region, which has witnessed the highest number of farmer suicides. But that may not be easy. The area is a bastion of the Shiv Sena, which has been pushing for its development. The Prime Minister has already announced a package for the region.Regarding Vidarbha, Mr Fadnavis had said the party supports the demand for a separate state, but there was a rider. The new state should not be carved out the way Telangana was. It should be based on a socio-economic transformation.