Mumbai: The Maharashtra-Karnataka border areas dominated by the Marathi-speaking population seem to have rejected the Marathi politics in the neighbouring state’s assembly polls.
Belgaum (north, south, rural), Nippani, Yamakanmardi and Khanapur are the six constituencies where candidates from the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) – the political party formed to ensure accession of this border area into Maharashtra – had fielded their candidates.
MES Cause Loses Relevance?
Khanapur had a Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate while Nippani had an NCP candidate. Leaders from Maharashtra, who have been supporting the MES cause, campaigned extensively in the region. NCP chief Sharad Pawar campaigned for his party candidate in Nippani; his lone public meeting in Karnataka during this assembly election, though his party had fielded nine candidates this time. Similarly, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut campaigned extensively for the MES candidates. However, none of them won. This has raised questions like whether the MES cause has lost its relevance for the common voters in the region.
The Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute started in 1956 when Belgaum and 10 talukas of the Bombay State were made a part of the then Mysore state on linguistic basis. The move was opposed arguing that Belgaum, Nippani and Karwar had a majority of Marathi speaking population and should have been part of the state. The actual dispute is over 800-odd villages in two Karnataka border districts of Gulbarga and Belgaum.
5 decade protest
The Marathi speaking people in these areas have been protesting for inclusion in Maharashtra for five decades and have often alleged that the Karnataka government has been trying to suppress their agitation as well as impose Kannada language on them.
The government of Karnataka has maintained that the villages are an integral part of the state. It has said that it considers the Mahajan Commission report to be final on the issue. The Mehr Chand Mahajan Commission constituted by the Government of India in 1966 at the insistence of the Maharashtra government, in its report, recommended merger of some villages from Belgaum with Maharashtra, but rejected merger of Belgaum. Maharashtra rejected the report, while Karnataka has been pressing for its implementation.
Several agitations have taken place over the issue and leaders, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, were even arrested for supporting the MES agitation.
Uddahv Thackeray as CM had maintained that “including Karnataka-occupied Marathispeaking and cultural areas in Maharashtra will be a true tribute to those who were martyred in the border dispute”. He has said, “We are united and committed towards it.”
