Abhijit Wanjarri is Congress face saver in MLC polls, retains seat in RSS bastion
Abhijit Wanjarri is Congress face saver in MLC polls, retains seat in RSS bastion
M.U.H
29/10/202621
The Congress has secured a second consecutive victory in the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, defeating the BJP in a region considered a stronghold of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Congress candidate Abhijit Govindrao Wanjarri defeated the BJP’s Sudhakar Kohle by 3,271 votes after a prolonged counting process.
The result is significant as Nagpur is the home city of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
The city is also the headquarters of the RSS, making the Congress victory a notable result in an area where the BJP and the organisation have a strong political presence.
With this victory, the Congress also opened its account in the ongoing MLC polls across 28 seats in 4 states - Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Wanjarri, a lawyer and educationist, had won the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency in 2020.
His latest victory gives him a second consecutive term in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. He contested the election as the Congress candidate backed by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP).
Following the result, Congress workers raised slogans against the BJP. Tensions also surfaced outside the Mankapur Indoor Stadium, where BJP and Congress workers clashed during the counting process. Police intervened to control the situation.
VOTERS STOOD WITH US: WANJARRI
Reacting to his victory, Wanjarri said the BJP had deployed its leaders and resources in Nagpur but voters supported the Congress.
“The BJP exerted all its might—all their leaders were present in Nagpur—yet the voters stood with us,” he said on October 28.
Wanjarri also credited the unity within the Congress and the MVA for the outcome.
He said several organisations had supported his campaign and pointed to the backing of 48 organisations mentioned in his campaign material.
“This victory belongs to the workers and leaders of those very organisations,” he said.
The Nagpur Graduates’ constituency had 38 candidates in the fray, with the main contest between Wanjarri and BJP nominee Sudhakar Kohle.
MVA CLAIMS THREE OF FIVE SEATS
The Nagpur result came amid elections to five seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. The MVA claimed victory in three constituencies, while the BJP and Shiv Sena secured one seat each, according to the results cited by the parties. The Election Commission’s formal announcement was awaited at the time of the initial reports.
The Congress had faced setbacks in other contests, including the four Legislative Council seats in Karnataka, where it lost despite being in power in the state. Wanjarri’s victory in Nagpur therefore provided the party with a significant result in Maharashtra.
WHO IS ABHIJIT WANJARRI?
Wanjarri is a lawyer and educationist who has been associated with the Congress for several years.
He first won the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency in 2020, defeating the BJP in a seat widely viewed as part of the party’s stronghold.
His second consecutive victory keeps the constituency with the Congress and marks another electoral contest in which the party has held its ground in Nagpur, the political home of both Fadnavis and Gadkari.
