Devendra Fadnavis decries criticism of BJP's Belagavi win; quips 'Sanjay Raut's ego lost'

Former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis hit back at Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut's criticism of BJP's resounding win in the Belagavi civic poll. While BJP bagged 35 out of 58 seats in the city corporation, Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti which espouses the cause of integrating the Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka with Maharashtra was relegated to the opposition. Venting his frustration on Tuesday, Raut remarked, "To prevent a Marathi person from ruling Belagavi whatever the Karnataka government has done will come out slowly. Today in Maharashtra, BJP is celebrating the loss of a Marathi person in Belagavi and distributing sweets".

"The Marathi community will not forgive you (BJP) as hundreds of people have fought and died in the battle for Belagavi. Don't you feel any shame? Keep politics aside," the Sena spokesperson added. 

Disapproving this stance on Wednesday, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis stressed, "The Marathi person has not lost in Belagavi because a Marathi person can never be defeated. Sanjay Raut's ego has lost in Belagavi. Over 15 of the elected BJP corporators are Marathi-speaking. That's why the defeat of a party cannot be equated to the defeat of a Marathi person. A Marathi person can never be defeated."

Dispute over Belagavi

There has been a longstanding dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka over the status of predominantly Marathi-speaking regions such as Belagavi. Speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly on December 20, 2019, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray re-ignited the tensions as he referred to these areas as 'Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra'. Moreover, he accused the BJP government in Karnataka of oppressing the Marathi-speaking people. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray remarked, "Like PoK, there is a Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra. People in Belagavi are not only Hindus but also Marathi-speaking people and wanted to be part of Maharashtra. However, they are facing oppression from the BJP-led government in Karnataka. Even for speaking the truth, the Belagavi mayor was booked for treason."

However, ex-Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa rubbished the possibility of merging border areas such as Belagavi, Karwar and Nipani with Maharashtra.  He maintained that the findings of the Mahajan Committee report should be accepted. He was referring to a commission formed in 1966 under Meher Chand Mahajan, a former Supreme Court judge, to look into the dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra. Maharashtra had refused to comply with the committee's report as it rejected the state's claim on Belagavi.