Nagpur: Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, where statehood is a contentious issue, has overwhelmingly come out in support of BJP in the Assembly polls and rejected Congress in the hustings.

Of the 62 seats in the region, BJP has won or was leading in 42, while Congress has been reduced to just about a dozen seats. The saffron outfit, a strong votary of small states, seems to have struck a chord with voters in Vidarbha, a cotton-rich belt which has become infamous for farmer suicides.