Nagpur: Asserting that the separate Vidarbha state could become a reality only after forming a political force, former advocate general and Vidarbha leader Adv Shrihary Aney said Vidarbha Rajya party (ViRA) will contest the municipal council polls in Gondia, Wardha, Hinganghat, Arvi and Sakoli.
Addressing meet the press programme organsied by the Tilak Patrakar Bhavan Trust on Friday, Adv Aney announced that Chhailbihari Agrawal will contest from Gondia, Mohan Chaudhari from Wardha, Sitaram Bhute from Hinganghat, Sanjay Wankhede from Arvi while Jayashri Bhaskar will contest from Arvi.
He said that elections will be contested on the plank of a separate state.
The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party have betrayed the people of Vidarbha. However, supporters from Vidarbha can be from any party and they will be welcome to join us, said Aney, who quit as the state”s top law officer in March this year for openly espousing the cause of a separate state.
He said that the movement for a cause does not last for long but if it is converted into a political party like in Telangana, it would better serve the cause. His party was not averse to entering into tie-ups or seat distribution with like-minded organisations or other political parties supporting a separate Vidarbha, during the forthcoming civic elections, he said.
He reiterated his commitment to the cause of a separate Vidarbha state to effectively tackle the lack of developmental activities, and grappling burning issues like the farmers” suicides in that region, among others. He said that it would take time for the party to gather strength but a beginning has to be made and hence the municipal council elections would be contested, he added
According to him, the biggest hurdle to the formation of the separate state was the lack of a dedicated political party which is where the focus should be, he said describing the experiment in Telangana as successful. He said that the movement for a cause does not last for long but if it is converted into a political party like in Telangana, it would better serve the cause. His party was not averse to entering into tie-ups or seat distribution with like-minded organisations or other political parties supporting a separate Vidarbha, during the forthcoming civic elections, he said. Shrihary Aney
