Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday arrived in Maharashtra as part of his two-day tour ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. Shah’s visit, according to party leaders, is aimed at ironing out differences within the BJP and within the Mahayuti allies. Shah is holding interactions with the BJP units region wise across Vidarbha, Marathwada, North and Western Maharashtra. Soon after his arrival on Tuesday afternoon, the Union minister addressed the officebearers and booth workers of the Vidarbha region in Nagpur. Among those present at the meeting were Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who also represents Nagpur Lok Sabha seat, did not attending as he was campaigning for the Jammu and Kashmir elections, party leaders said. A section within the BJP has been demanding that Gadkari should play a proactive role in the Assembly polls. During the meeting, Shah underlined the significance of winning Vidarbha region which has 62 out of 288 Assembly seats. “He went to the extent of saying that the party which wins Vidarbha wins Maharashtra,” a senior BJP functionary said on condition of anonymity. The party expects a direct fight with Congress in the majority of 62 seats in the region. In the 2014 Assembly polls, the BJP won 44 out of 62 seats and also emerged as the single largest party winning a total 122 out of 288 seats. However, in the 2019 polls, the BJP’s tally was reduced to 29 seats. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had emerged as the party with the highest number of seats in the state. In the Vidarbha region, the party won five out of ten Lok Sabha seats, whereas BJP won only two seats. One seat each was bagged by Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). After Vidarbha, Shah held a meeting with the state unit in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Marathwada region which has a total 46 Assembly seats. The BJP is facing an uphill task in the Marathawada region, where there is growing polarisation between the Maratha and OBC communities over reservation. “Shah has chosen to hope region wise to directly interact and address with the state unit to inculcate confidence. The underlying message to the state unit insiders revealed was to set aside their differences and power tussle over tickets and focus on reaching out to masses to consolidate organisation,” a party functionary said. Shah's visit to state also coincides with the growing rumbling within Mahayuti allies over “communal agenda” of the BJP. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who leads the NCP, had said, “ We may be part of the Mahayuti but secularism is non-negotiable.” The NCP state president Sunil Tatkare said the they follow Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, B R Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj the party does not endorse communal agenda. The NCP’s unrest surfaced following controversial statements made by religious leader Ramgiri Maharaj in Nashik where he allegedly made remarks against a minority community. Later, BJP (MLA) Nitesh Rane at two public meetings under Sakal Hindu Sabha made remarks allegedly targeting the community.
