Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
Credit: PTI Photo
With the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls just months away, the Maharashtra government is likely to come up with a package for the drought-prone Marathwada region—which by size and population is bigger than several Indian states.
Besides, a series of developmental projects are expected to be launched over the weekend.
At the special Cabinet meeting on Saturday in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, earlier known as Aurangabad, the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government is expected to launch several measures to boost the economy of the Marathwada region.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, however, has targeted the Shinde-dispensation question the progress of the package that the government announced a few years ago.
Spread over 64,590 sq km, the Marathwada region or the Aurangabad division comprises of eight districts of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (earlier Aurangabad), Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Parbhani and Dharashiv (earlier Osmanabad).
Incidentally, Aurangabad is the tourism capital of the state with two UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora, that are of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain importance. Apart from that, Bibi-a-Maqbara, which resembles Taj Mahal, and is popularly known as Dakkhani Taj and the historic Daulatabad Fort or Deogiri Fort are located here.
Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, eight fall in Marathwada and in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, 46 MLAs are from this region.
India attained Independence on August 15, 1947, but the Marathwada region was liberated on September 17, 1948 from the Nizam Rule. The day is celebrated as Marathwada Liberation Day, also known as Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din.
The region borders Karnataka and Telangana.
The Cabinet meeting comes on the eve of the Marathwada Liberation Day. It is taking place just after the major protest during which Jalna-based activist Manoj Jarange Patil sat on a hunger-strike for 17 days demanding issuance of 'Kunbi' caste certificates to Marathas from the Marathwada region who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam-era which recognise them as Kunbis - a move that would enable them to get OBC reservation.
The deficit rainfall is also a major cause of concern in the region.
For Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers - Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, addressing the Maratha-Kunbi reservation issue is a major challenge though it has 30-40 days’ time - as the MVA comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-Supriya Sule-led NCP is mounting pressure, particularly after the lathi-charge on the protestors.
Politically also things are not the same for the ruling and the opposition alliances because of the the presence of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) headed by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) - and their influence in the region.
In fact, recently Ambedkar had been to Aurangabad and bowed before the tomb of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb at Khuldabad - triggering sharp reactions from BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Owaisi regularly addresses rallies in the region while KCR has visited more than half a dozen times this year and also offered prayers at Tulja Bhavani temple at Tuljapur in Osmanabad district.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress wanted to know what happened to the package that the government had announced after Fadnavis took over as Chief Minister.
Leader of the Opposition in Council Ambadas Danve of Shiv Sena (UBT) said: “Fadnavis was the Chief Minister during the last 2016 Cabinet meeting in Aurangabad. Fadnavis is the “Super CM” even in the present government.”