BJP's Kohale files Nagpur graduates' seat nomination, hopes mentor Anil Sole will not rebel

Sudhakar Kohale, the BJP's official candidate for the Nagpur division graduates' constituency election, filed his nomination today. On the occasion, he spoke emotionally about former MLA Anil Sole. Kohale said Sole is his guru and a guru can never be angry with his disciple.

According to Kohale, Sole taught him mathematics from Class 11 through BSc and later taught him politics as well. For this reason, he expressed hope that Sole would not rebel against the BJP. Kohale said that a person who has been a guru in his life would not stand against his own disciple.

Sole has earlier been an MLA from this constituency. The party has not given him the ticket this time, and he is therefore in a rebellious mood. Kohale said that if Sole has been loyal to the party, he himself has also been loyal for the past 35 years. He also said the party's senior leaders will decide on Sole's rebellion, and reminded that it is the senior leaders' responsibility to defuse it.

In view of the drought conditions, the BJP cancelled the workers' rally planned for Kohale's nomination. Under the earlier plan, the rally was to go from Swagat Lawn to the divisional commissioner's office. The BJP announced that, given the drought, neither the playing of dhol-tasha drums nor the rally would take place. The nomination was therefore filed quietly.

Another aspirant has also entered the contest for this seat. Raman Senad is the Prant Pramukh, covering Vidarbha among other areas, of the Vishva Hindu Parishad's Mandir Aayam. Senad said he has worked in the Sangh Parivar for 50 years and has been active in the BJP for 30 years. According to him, he sought the party's candidature several times but the party did not give him the ticket. Even so, he said, he continued to work honestly for the party and the Sangh. Senad said he is now filing his nomination at the request of workers.

The BJP's headache in the Nagpur division graduates' constituency has thus grown. It will be important to see how the party placates these rebels.

The full schedule for the Legislative Council election is as follows. The notification was issued on September 29, 2026. The last date for filing nominations is October 6, 2026. Nomination papers will be scrutinised on October 7, 2026. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is October 9, 2026. Voting will be held on October 23, 2026, from 8 am to 4 pm, and counting and results will follow on October 27, 2026.