Congress Claims Nagpur Council Seat in Blow to BJP

Nagpur, October 29: The Congress has notched up its second consecutive win in the Nagpur Division Graduate Constituency for the Maharashtra Legislative Council, dealing a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party in a region considered a bastion of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Abhijit Govindrao Wanjari of the Congress emerged victorious over BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohle by 3,271 votes, after a drawn-out counting process. The result stands out in Nagpur, where the BJP and RSS have long enjoyed a considerable political foothold.

Talking to the media after his win, Wanjari said the BJP had mobilised its full strength to win the polls, yet it had not been able to achieve success.

He expressed faith in the support extended by voters, stating, "The BJP had put its entire might into these elections, its senior leaders were present in Nagpur, but the voters were with us."

The outcome is especially notable because Nagpur is the home town of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The city also forms part of the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Moreover, Nagpur is the headquarters of the RSS, whose ideological and organisational presence in the region remains strong.

With this win, the Congress has opened its account in the by-elections for 28 Legislative Council seats held in Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Wanjari contested the election as the Congress nominee with the backing of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The alliance includes the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Congress leader Harshvardhan Sapkal said on X that with this victory, "the balloon of illusion has burst, and hatred has been defeated."