In a meeting held at Manmad, the BJP MLA from Chandwad, Jaichand Kasliwal, former Nandgaon MLA Jagannath Dhatak (Congress) and the sitting Nandgaon MLA Rajendra Deshmukh (Sena) discussed the possibility of creating Manmad as a new district as an alternative to the Malegaon district. They unanimously decided to conduct a survey and submit particulars and map of the proposed Manmad district. Manmad, incidentally, is a small town with a population below one lakh, on the Central Railway. It is a railway junction and has a major oil terminal of public sector petroleum companies and godowns of the Food Corporation of India. It's local affairs are governed by a municipal council.

It may be recalled thatthe Shiv Sena has given a call for Malegaon bandh on December 30 to reiterate the demand for a separate Malegaon district, which has been a long pending demand of the local people irrespective of party affiliations. Chief Minister Manohar Joshi has already announced that some new districts, including Malegaon, would be formed on May 1, 1999.

The Sena has also condemned recent suggestions made by the two BJP ministers hailing from Kalwan State health minister Dr Daulatrao Aher and tribal development minister Arjun Pawar that separate Kalwan district be created, instead of proposed Malegaon district. Malegaon incidentally, is the largest populated town in Nashik district, second only to Nashik city. However, its distance from the district headquarters is around 110 kms. The demand for creating Malegaon district has been accepted in principle by all chief ministers of the State since A R Antulay in 1980 but the promise is yet to be fulfilled.

Agitation year: The President of the Maharashtra PradeshCongress Committee (MPCC), Prataprao Bhosale, announced that his party would observe the year 1999 as an Agitation Year in the State to wrest power from the Shiv Sena combine.