ays after the Maharashtra cabinet approved the renaming of Aurangabad city, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Gopichand Padalkar on Wednesday demanded that neighbouring Ahmednagar district be renamed as “Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Nagar.”
Padalkar, a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, belongs to the Dhangar community.
Ahilyadevi Holkar, an illustrious 18th century ruler of the Indore state, was born into a Dhangar family in today’s Ahmednagar district.
In a letter to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Padalkar said, “Ahilyadevi Holkar has played a vital role in rebuilding several temples and helped in conserving the cultural heritage of this country. She was born in Chaundi village in Ahmednagar district. People feel that the district should be renamed after her.”
The city of Ahmednagar, about 120 km north-east of Pune, is believed to have been founded by Ahmed Nizam Shah I in 1490.
The state cabinet led by chief minister Eknath Shinde last week approved of renaming of Aurangabad city as ‘Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’ and Osmanabad city as ‘Dharashiv.’
