Congress wins in Nagpur, Abhijit Wanjari secures victory in BJP's stronghold

Maharashtra's Legislative Council elections have dealt a major blow to the BJP. Congress candidate and sitting MLC Abhijit Wanjari has won the Nagpur Graduates' constituency seat. He has maintained his dominance on this seat by defeating BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohle by 3,271 votes. The results of this election are considered significant for the BJP because Nagpur is the home constituency of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

According to Amar Ujala's report, a clash broke out between BJP and Congress workers during the counting of votes, which forced the police to intervene. Workers of both parties came face to face and scuffled outside the Mankapur Indoor Stadium. As the situation deteriorated, the police intervened and tried to bring the situation under control.

It is noteworthy that the vote-counting process in the Nagpur Graduates' constituency was very prolonged. This process, which began on Tuesday morning, was completed early Thursday morning. According to reports from Business Standard and ABP Asmita, the counting, which lasted for over 40 hours, saw an extremely thrilling contest. No candidate could secure the required quota in the first-preference votes, leading to the second-preference vote counting and the process of transferring votes after eliminating other candidates.

It is worth noting that BJP's Sudhakar Kohle was ahead in the second round of vote counting. According to The Times of India and Business Standard, Kohle was ahead of Wanjari by 4,294 votes in the second round. At that time, Kohle had received 60,924 votes while Wanjari had received 56,630 votes. Independent candidate Nitesh Karale had received 24,249 votes. However, in the final stage, Wanjari emerged victorious. Ultimately, Abhijit Wanjari received a total of 67,231 votes, while BJP's Sudhakar Kohle received 63,960 votes.

According to a report by The Hindu, out of the five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has won three seats. Out of these three seats, Sharad Pawar's NCP SP has won two seats, while the Congress has won the prestigious Nagpur seat. The ruling Mahayuti alliance has secured two seats. This is the second time that Congress has defeated the BJP in Nagpur. Earlier in the year 2020 too, Congress had won this seat, which was previously held by the BJP for 58 years. This seat long represented Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

After the victory, Abhijit Wanjari stated, "Strength does not always help you win elections. Sometimes thoughts work better. Tactics are better than strength (thought is stronger than power). We made a good strategy." Wanjari is a senior Congress leader, lawyer, and educationist. He has obtained BA and LLB degrees from Nagpur University and served as the General Secretary of Maharashtra State NSUI from 1998 to 2002. He had won this seat for the first time in 2020 by defeating Sandeep Joshi.

Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkale, attacking the BJP after the victory, said, "Modi and Fadnavis's illusion bubble has burst. The Maha Vikas Aghadi has registered a grand victory in the three Legislative Council seats." He further added that despite having money and muscle power, the BJP has lost. He also said that in the city housing the RSS headquarters, Congress has defeated the BJP for the second consecutive time.

On the other hand, NCP SP leader Supriya Sule blessed winning candidate Harshada Deshmukh Jadhav by performing a aarti. Following the election results, the opposition criticized the BJP for its "arrogance" and "overconfidence". NCP SP National Spokesperson Clyde Crasto stated that if these results had come from ballot papers, the ballot paper system should be adopted again in the country. He mentioned a deleted post by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, saying it showed arrogance. NCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar also said that these results are a message for the BJP in Nagpur. He noted that although the Chief Minister personally paid attention to this election and went door-to-door to convince rebels, the BJP had to face defeat in the RSS headquarters.

During the elections, a statement made by a Congress worker also sparked discussion. He claimed that in the upcoming 2029 elections, 'Gen Z' will play an important role in removing the BJP from power across the country. Through this statement, the worker expressed the party's confidence regarding the role of young voters in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.