Is Vidarbha going to play an important role in Maharashtra politics? Is Nagpur going to be the centre of state politics? These questions are gaining importance since the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has its headquarters at Reshim Baug in Nagpur and the front-runner for the post of chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, hails from there. The new entrant to the race, Nitin Gadkari, also hails from Nagpur. Incidentally, SudhirMungantiwar who backed Gadkari's name to provide a twist to the tale is from Chandrapur in the Vidarbha region.

What's so special about Nagpur and Vidarbha?Zero Mile, the geographical centre of India, is in Nagpur. Nagpur was the capital of the central province before the formation of states on a linguistic basis. Ever since Maharashtra was formed in 1960, the demand for a separate Vidarbha state has also risen. Though there were agitations in 1970s and 1980s, they died down as most Vidarbha leaders acquired good positions in successive Congress governments and convinced the party high command that separating Vidarbha would mean Congress losing Mumbai.

Why is a separate Vidarbha demanded?Among Vaidarbhi (those residing in Vidarbha), there's a strong feeling of step-motherly treatment by successive governments. Dr Nitin Raut, who was a minister in the Prithviraj Chavan cabinet, says that despite providing coal as well as power to the state, Vidarbha does not enjoy power tariff subsidy. Sudhir Mungantiwar, who is a five-time MLA of BJP, points out that when Solapur district received power subsidy worth Rs 1,345 crore for agricultural power pumps last year, Vidarbha region received Rs 675 crore.

What's the industrial scenario?People of Vidarbha feel successive governments have undermined industrial development in the region and took industries to western Maharashtra. Lack of irrigation facilities has given rise to farmer suicides and agrarian crisis. Coupled with unemployment, it has led to the rise of Naxalism, Mungantiwar and Raut point out. Mungantiwar said that despite massive production of cash crops like cotton and oranges, there are no processing industries in Vidarbha. This leaves farmers at the mercy of the vagaries of nature and market forces.

What is the importance of Vidarbha now?Vidarbha was a Congress bastion for years and had stood by late Indira Gandhi even after emergency. But in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine won all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the Vidarbha region. The BJP won 44 out of the 62 assembly seats in the region in the recently held assembly elections.

What are the party stands on Vidarbha?Sena is opposed to the idea of a separate Vidarbha right from day one. It's a staunch supporter of United Maharashtra, which includes Belgaum and Karwar from Karnataka. Other parties like the Congress and the NCP support Vidarbha but they have played it safe during the 2014 assembly elections. The NCP said it would support a separate Vidarbha. The BJP has always been for the creation of smaller states and has be proudly stating that it had created Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh during NDA rule under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

What's Vidarbha's role in the current political scenario?Whosoever becomes chief minister, the RSS will have its say – directly or indirectly. Even if someone from outside Vidarbha becomes CM, he will have to take instructions from Nagpur. The BJP will take a stand on a separate Vidarbha 3-4 years down the line. Nagpur as well as Vidarbha, with 44 MLAs, would remain a force to reckon with.