SHINDE GOVERNMENT’S PERFORMANCE The Shinde government has been widely criticised for the various sops to the electorate as well as for the parlous economic state of the once very prosperous state. The electorate, however, is not as critical of the government. In each of the three regions, and more so in Vidarbha, supporters of the Shinde government clearly outnumber those who think it has done a poor job. THE LEADERSHIP STAKES Sharad Pawar, who has vowed not to return to state politics, narrowly leads Sushilkumar Shinde in two of the three regions. In Marathwada, it is Shinde who has an edge over Pawar. The erstwhile Congress chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, also finds a fair amount of support in Vidarbha and Marathwada. In the general elections, the Congress lost many seats because the BSP won a fair degree of support in Vidarbha, particularly among the Dalits. The Vidarbha voters feel that Mayawati is the best Dalit leader; Prakash Ambedkar and Ramdas Athavale, the home grown Dalit leaders, are no match for Behenji. FREE POWER TO FARMERS? The BJP has supported the demand for Vidarbha longer than other major parties in the state. The Congress and the NCP are also now gently veering in favour of a separate state. It is only Thackeray who is implacably opposed to Vidarbha. As expected, the demand for a separate state is strongly opposed in Marathwada and the North. But the real surprise comes from Vidarbha where too, on balance, the electorate is against separation from Maharashtra. The Indian Express-Loksatta-NDTV opinion poll
