Sanjay Raut acting as Congress middleman, says Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday alleged that Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut was campaigning in Karnatakas Belagavi on the instructions of the Congress in a bid to cut the BJPs votesFadnavis was speaking to reporters in Belagavi district which has a significant population of Marathispeaking people and has been a bone of contention between the two neighbouring states Maharashtra and Karnataka for decadesThe dispute dates back to the 1960s after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines Maharashtra laid claim on Belagavi earlier known as Belgaum which was part of the Bombay Presidency at the time of independence on linguistic groundsIf Raut stops functioning like a middleman of the Congress then I will not come hereBut he is here on the instructions of the Congress to cut BJPs votes Fadnavis claimedRauts party and Congress are political allies so instead of telling us he should have asked Congress leaders not to field candidates here in Belagavi But he will not tell that to Congress the senior Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leader and former chief minister addedAlso readBJP does not enjoy public support it wins elections by rigging EVMs RautOn several occasions in the past Raut dared Fadnavis to support the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti MES a body fighting for the rights of the Marathispeaking people in BelagaviKarwar areas of the southern state and accused the BJP of weakening the outfitThe Congress the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party NCP form the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA alliance in Maharashtra In Karnataka the Congress is the principal opposition party seeking to dislodge the BJP government Assembly elections in Karnataka will be held on May 10On Wednesday Raut addressed a rally in Belagavi to campaign for Murlidhar Patil an MES candidate from KhanapurWhen asked about BJPs stand on solving the MaharashtraKarnataka border dispute Fadnavis said My party as well as I am in full support of the Marathispeaking people currently living in BelagaviThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever