Is Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister and supremo of Shiv Sena (Shinde group) ignoring Nagpur and Vidarbha? This question is being asked by his own volunteers and office-bearers of this area. The snub by the leadership of Shinde Sena is evident as the party revised the tour of Shivsankalp Abhiyaan twice. Everytime some or other part of Vidarbha was dropped from the campaign. Every party is chalking out its Lok Sabha 2024 plan and leaders’ visits throughout Maharashtra. With eyes on Lok Sabha polls, Shinde, too, has prepared the schedule of his visits to various places in Mahararashtra. The party has launched Shivsankalp Abhiyaan which has started from Shirur and will be concluded in a grand convention in Nashik on January 29. In earlier programme, Vidarbha’s Washim-Yavatmal, Amravati, Buldhana, Ramtek were included in the drive.

 

The party revised it and in the new programme schedule only two districts of Vidarbha, Amravati and Buldhana, have been retained in the schedule of the drive. Bhavna Gawli from Washim-Yavatmal constituency and Krupal Tumane of Ramtek Lok Sabha have willingly broke away from Shiv Sena (UBT) and joined Shinde group. Shockingly, these two districts are now not the part of Shivsankalp Abhiyaan. It was a year ago that Shinde group split from Shiv Sena but Shinde did not convene a single party meeting in this area since then. The volunteers of this area have no answer to this question. They don’t expect a grand convention but want atleast a small meeting with their leader. Shinde was in Nagpur during winter session of state legislature, during that time also he hardly called any meeting with his own party workers of Nagpur and Vidarbha. Of the 14 Lok Sabha members that Shiv Sena has, 13 are with Shinde. Of those 13, four are from Vidarbha viz Buldhana, Amravati, Ramtek and Washim-Yavatmal.

 

A month ago, some office-bearers from Vidarbha had met Shinde to share their grievances. They had also expressed their feeling of getting step-motherly treatment from their other two constituents-Bharatiya Janata Party and NCP (Ajit Pawar). Because of intra-group competition somehow both groups of NCP have become active in Vidarbha. But Shinde Sena failed to take off. The party office-bearers shared their feelings with ‘The Hitavada’ on condition of anonymity but are unlikely to speak about it with Shinde. According to highly placed sources, Shinde has kept focussed approach and is trying to know where his group could surely win in Lok Sabha as well as in Assembly. Shinde doesn’t want any distraction but wants to win every seat, he would target.