Ace political strategist Prashant Kishor to ‘guide’ pro-Vidarbha leaders on Sept 28

Nagpur: The separate Vidarbha statehood issue, which got swept under the carpet after 2014, may get a new lease of life following the entry of India’s well known political strategist Prashant Kishor. On September 28, Kishor will attend a ‘closed door’ meeting with pro-Vidarbha activists and guide them on how to take the statehood movement ahead.
The September 28 meeting is the culmination of an initiative which started in June. Former MLA Ashish Deshmukh has been instrumental in bringing the much-in-demand strategist Kishor on board.
Deshmukh said, “In June, Telangana statehood anniversary celebrations were going on and that’s when I thought how to take our own statehood movement forward. You look at states like Chhattisgarh and Telangana, and that proves how well smaller states are performing.”
Pro-Vidarbha activist Pradeep Maheshwari agrees. “Economy will be more vibrant after separation as 25 lakh jobs can be created here. Cotton and minerals can play a major role in attracting investments here,” said Maheshwari.
With his mind made up, Deshmukh reached out to Kishor in June itself. “I told him that so far you have been strategizing about government formation, how about looking into state formation. Dealing in this new sphere must have appealed to Kishor, because he immediately agreed,” said Deshmukh, who has been a vocal supporter of Vidarbha.
After the discussion between the two, Kishor’s first phase of action was research. Deshmukh said, “His team reached Vidarbha in July and visited every district here. They spoke to various people and gathered as much information as possible.”
One of the persons closely involved with Kishor’s team said there were over 20 people who toured the districts. “They spoke with senior Vidarbha activists and understood the issue inside out,” he said.
After a couple months of on-field research and analysis, Kishor was ready with a brief outline of his strategy. Last week, he spoke to around two dozen Vidarbha activists via video conference and shared his initial thoughts.
Nitin Ronghe, a pro-Vidarbha activist who attended the meeting, said Kishor saw potential in the movement. “He said the movement needs to be structured, sustainable and scalable. I look forward to the next meeting as that’s when Kishor will share more details on what new can be done,” said Ronghe.
Vidarbha supporters have for long done everything which is expected of any ‘agitation’. Deshmukh said “Protests, fast-unto-death, rasta roko, rail roko etc have all been done. Through Kishor, we want to know what else or how differently we can do things.”
Senior counsel Shreehari Aney says without political will the movement can’t go ahead. “A state can be created if there is political will. As no national party shows such will, Vidarbha has only two options: violence or political power. We have rejected violence therefore we must convert our agitation into a popular election mandate,” said Aney.
He added that Kishor’s involvement needs to be in specific areas. “Viewed in context of political power, I fear Kishor’s contribution of mere ‘strategy’ may not serve much purpose. It will be meaningful only if he can actually secure for us the funding to fight elections. Anything short of actual money may be mere lip service,” said Aney.
From the experienced pro-Vidarbha campaigners to the new generation activists who entered the statehood fray, the September 28 meeting will surely see a lively debate.
As for the man behind bringing all of them under one roof for this meeting, Deshmukh, even the date has a significance. “September 28 has been specifically chosen as the meeting’s date because that’s when the Nagpur Pact was signed way back in 1953. This pact led to creation of Maharashtra and Nagpur lost its status as a capital city,” said Deshmukh.