Ajit Pawar demands Velhe taluka in Pune district to rename as Rajgad

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar demanded that Velhe taluka in Maharashtra’s Pune district be renamed as Rajgad. Vehle taluka houses the famous Rajgad fort, the first capital of the Maratha Empire under the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for more than two decades.

The second capital during the Maratha warrior king’s rule was Raigad fort. This hill fort, built by Shivaji Maharaj, is located in Raigad taluka  named after that fort. Pawar, who is the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, wrote a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Thursday to raise the demand of renaming Vehle taluka.

In the letter, Pawar said that Rajgad fort in Velhe taluka served as the first capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and he ruled from there for 27 years. Out of the 70 gram panchayats in the taluka, 58 have passed resolutions seeking that the name of the taluka be changed (to Rajgad), the former deputy chief minister said.

पुणे जिल्ह्यातील वेल्हे तालुक्याचं नामांतरण राजगड तालुका असं करावं, त्यासंदर्भातील प्रस्तावास मान्यता देण्यात यावी, अशी मागणी पत्रामार्फत मुख्यमंत्री @mieknathshinde जी, उपमुख्यमंत्री @Dev_Fadnavis जी आणि महसूल मंत्री @RVikhePatil जी यांच्याकडे केली आहे. pic.twitter.com/66r98fxtWu

— Ajit Pawar (@AjitPawarSpeaks) April 27, 2023