Nagpur: With the announcement of the Maharashtra Assembly election schedule, political activity in Nagpur has intensified, particularly in the six rural seats of Nagpur District. Speculation is rife as parties remain tight-lipped about their candidate line-ups, leaving the political landscape uncertain. As various parties strategize behind closed doors, the guessing game over potential contenders continues to dominate discussions in the region.
Voting is scheduled for November 20, and the counting of votes will be held on November 23. The last date for filing nominations is October 29.
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Sat 21 Dec. 2024
Reddy’s rebellion adds twist to fight in Ramtek
As Assembly elections loom closer, the Ramtek constituency in Nagpur district is becoming a matter of concern for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after the rebellion by former MLA Mallikarjun Reddy. Ramtek has been traditionally a stronghold of Shiv Sena. In 2019, the victory of Adv Ashish Jaiswal, as an independent, regained his hold which he had lost in 2014 to BJP. The formation of ‘Mahayuti’ with Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) in the State will compel BJP to leave the seat for Adv Jaiswal for upcoming election.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde recently confirmed Adv Jaiswal’s nomination from Ramtek which effectively ended the chances of BJP’s Reddy. A miffed Reddy turned rebel and started anti party activities which forced BJP to expel him from the party for the next six years. It has resulted in anger and dissatisfaction among local party members. All these latest developments in BJP have made the upcoming Assembly election in Ramtek more interesting.
Katol: Parties still in wait and watch mode over candidate
Choice of candidate has become a big headache for all political parties in the Katol Assembly constituency. Anil Deshmukh of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) is seen as the top contender for the Maha Vikas Aaghadi. However, there is also talk that the former Home Minister would opt for South West Nagpur handing over the baton to son Salil Deshmukh. All parties have kept their fingers crossed. The constituency was mostly dominated by Congress or allies mostly by Deshmukhs, Shindes, since 1962, when the first Assembly elections in Maharashtra were held.
In 2009 as a part of alliance between Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kiran Pandav got the ticket as Sena member. Expressing unhappiness over this development, Charan Singh Thakur contested on RPI (A) ticket and stood second as Anil Deshmukh won the election by a huge margin of 32,203 votes. The dominance of Congress ended in 2014. Riding the Modi wave, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dr Ashish Deshmukh won the election defeating uncle Anil Deshmukh by a margin of 5,557 votes. Ashish secured 70,344 votes while Anil Deshmukh could clinch 64,787 votes.
In 2019, the picture was altogether different. Ashish Deshmukh rejoined Congress and BJP pitted Charan Singh Thakur against Anil Deshmukh. Deshmukh registered victory by a margin of 17,057 votes. For BJP, the choice of candidate is a big challenge. Thakur has an advantage over both Deshmukhs. He stays in Katol and local people feel Thakur will be in a better position to resolve their issues. But Thakur is still not considered as winning material. Dr Ashish Deshmukh has an edge over Thakur on several counts. Ashish can match caste equation plus he and his father Ranjit Deshmukh have their roots in this constituency.
In Sunil Kedar’s absence, Saoner presents an open field:
Though not very historical or economically important, Saoner Assembly constituency has been a political powerhouse as bigwigs of State politics dominate this segment. Identified more with Suni lKedar, Saoner will see an open field this year after the Congress strongman’s disqualification owing conviction in the NDCCB scam. Saoner is headed for a straight fight between Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP has slowly and surely made inroads into the constituency and continues to present a strong challenge to the Kedar citadel. The family patriarch Chhatrapal Kedar held the seat for a considerably long time. Sunil Kedar will not be in the race but he is still going to call the shots and Congress is likely to field a candidate of his choice. BJP too is set to put up a strong candidate, someone who can pose a challenge to Kedar’s supremacy.
Kamptee to see direct fight between Cong, BJP
Kamptee Assembly constituency has been predominantly represented by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the past three elections (2009, 2014, and 2019). It witnessed a notable shift in candidates in the 2019 election where BJP sailed home yet again. In 2019, among 12 candidates,Tekchand Sawarkar from the BJP garnered 1,18,182 votes (46.0% of the total votes). He was given a good fight by Suresh Bhoyar of Congress who secured 1,07,066 votes (41.7%). Rajesh Kakade from Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi received 10,601 votes (4.1%).
Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the current State President of the BJP, had a long history of political service in the region, having been elected twice to the Zilla Parishad and thrice to the Maharashtra State Assembly from Kamptee. Despite his long-standing association with Kamptee constituency, the BJP made a shift during the 2019 elections by dropping Bawankule and fielded Sawarkar.
Interesting battle on cards in Umred
Stage is set for a fierce battle between Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aaghadi (MVA) in Umred Assembly constituency. Election results in the constituency have given mixed results with Bharatiya Janata Party winning in 2009 and 2014 while Indian National Congress getting the seat back in 2019 Assembly polls. What makes this constituency interesting is that the winner of last State Assembly elections from Congress, Raju Parwe, switched sides to Shiv Sena (Shinde) just before the Lok Sabha elections and lost the parliamentary elections from Ramtek seat. The Umred seat has also become a matter of contention between BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) as Parwe wants to get his seat back while BJP has claimed the seat with Sudhakar Kohle, President of BJP’s Nagpur (Rural) unit expressing desire to contest. winning back the lost bastion.
Hingna: Consistent act by BJP since 2009
The history of the Hingna Legislative Assembly seat, which falls under Nagpur district and the Ramtek parliamentary constituency, is relatively recent. This seat was established after the 2009 delimitation and has only seen three elections so far. In all three elections, the electorate has consistently voted for the same party. It is believed that this seat will once again go to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the Mahayuti alliance. The Hingna Assembly seat is categorised as unreserved, but Dalit voters play a crucial role in determining the outcome.
According to 2019 data, there are approximately 70,000 Dalit voters in this constituency. Additionally, around 39,000 tribal voters also influence the election results. The number of Muslim voters is estimated to be around 11,000. Approximately 55 percent of the constituency is urban, while around 45 percent is rural.
In 2009, the BJP’s Vijay Ghodmare won the election with 65,039 votes (40.3%), while the NCP’s Rameshchandra Bang secured 64,339 votes (39.9%). Rajaram Pande of the BSP came in third with 9,262 votes (5.7%). In the 2014 election, the BJP fielded Sameer Meghe, who won with a good margin and received 84,139 votes (42%), while his opponent, NCP’s Ramesh Bang, garnered 60,981votes (30.04%). Kunda Raut of Congress ranked third with20,628 votes (10.3%).
In 2019, the BJP’s vote share increased to 54 per cent, with Sameer Meghe once again winning the election by receiving 121,305 votes.Ghodmare,who fought on Congress ticket, received 75,138 votes (33.5%), while Nilesh Jangle of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi finished third with 15,371votes (6.8%).
