Congress Scores First MLC Poll Win, Deals Blow To BJP As Abhijit Wanjarri Retains RSS’ Nagpur Bastion

The Congress has retained Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, with sitting MLC Abhijit Wanjarri defeating BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes. The result is a setback for the BJP in Nagpur, home to the RSS headquarters and the political base of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Wanjarri secured 67,231 votes against Kohale’s 63,960, with counting concluding in the early hours of Thursday after more than 40 hours of vote counting that began on Tuesday morning.

BJP Fails To Retain Its Nagpur Stronghold

The outcome is significant for the BJP, which has traditionally enjoyed considerable influence in the constituency. Gadkari represented the graduates’ seat in the Legislative Council for 24 years, from July 1990 to May 2014.

Despite extensive campaigning by both Gadkari and Fadnavis for Kohale, the Congress managed to retain the seat. The result also marks the Congress’s first victory in the ongoing Legislative Council elections covering 28 seats across Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Wanjarri, a lawyer and educationist, first won the constituency in 2020. Contesting again on a Congress ticket, he received the backing of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP). Although 38 candidates contested the election, the main battle was between Wanjarri and Kohale, a former MLA.

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‘Voters Stood With Us’, Says Wanjarri

Following his victory, Wanjarri said the BJP had mobilised its leadership and resources for the election but failed to win over voters.

“The BJP exerted all its might—all their leaders were present in Nagpur—yet the voters stood with us,” he said on October 28.

He also attributed the result to coordination among Congress leaders and the MVA, while acknowledging the support extended by various organisations during his campaign.

“This victory belongs to the workers and leaders of those very organisations,” he said, referring to the 48 organisations mentioned in his campaign material.

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MVA Wins Three Of Five Maharashtra MLC Seats

The Nagpur constituency was among five seats contested in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. The MVA won three seats, while the BJP and Shiv Sena secured one each, according to results cited by the parties. The Election Commission’s formal announcement was awaited in the initial reports.

The Nagpur victory comes after the Congress suffered a setback in Karnataka, where it lost all four Legislative Council seats contested in the state.

Counting Tension As Congress Celebrates Win

Congress workers celebrated Wanjarri’s victory by raising slogans against the BJP. The counting process had also witnessed clashes between workers of the two parties outside the Mankapur Indoor Stadium, prompting police intervention to restore order.

Wanjarri’s second consecutive victory ensures that the Congress retains the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency, delivering a significant result in a region where the BJP has a strong organisational presence.