Nagpur is well connected to rest of India and is closer to most of
India than Delhi. Most important, it is proximate to the Adivasi/Maoist
belt. The capital re-location would ensure that the heartlands (which
presently suffer from sever neglect) get a bit more TLC.
Nagpur
is also the home of the RSS and knowledgeable observers of India know
of this and are looking ahead (see below). If the BJP comes to power it
can shake things up by moving house. If nothing else the people of the
Deccan Plateau (South-Central and Southern India) would welcome such a
move and may even develop a soft corner for a (primarily) Hindi-belt
party. This fellow feeling would be critical for BJP to nurture and
develop in order to challenge Congress in those impregnable southern
forts.
….
British
high commissioner Sir James David Bevan today visited Nagpur to witness
the polling process in Naxal-hit Vidarbha region during the first phase
of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
…
“I am here to observe
the wonderful experience of polling in the world’s largest democracy and
enjoying it,” the senior diplomat told PTI, adding Britain is also
keenly following Indian elections.
On why he chose to come to
Nagpur when he lived in Delhi, where seven LS seats went to polls on
Thursday, James said he wanted to visit other places in the country to
keenly watch the democratic process.
James arrived here this
morning from Delhi and drove straight to the residence of former BJP
national president Nitin Gadkari who is contesting his first Lok Sabha
election this time from here. He spent nearly half-an-hour with the 56-year-old stalwart at ‘Gadkariwada’ in Mahal. Later, James visited some of the polling booths. Gadkari, accompanied
by his wife Kanchan and the family, cast his vote in Town Hall polling
centre amid media glare.
Ten Lok Sabha constituencies in Vidarbha where polling is underway
since 7 AM are Nagpur, Ramtek, Bhandara-Gondia, Gadchiroli,
Chandrapur,Akola, Amravati, Buldana, Wardha and Yavatmal-Washim.
…
regards