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.