Congress' Wanjari retains Nagpur graduates' seat as second-preference votes overturn BJP lead

Congress's Abhijit Wanjari has retained the Nagpur graduates' constituency seat. In the final count, Wanjari received 67,231 votes, while BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohle got 63,960. Independent candidate Nitesh Karale had polled more than 24,000 first-preference votes.

The picture was different in the first-preference count. In that round Kohle had 61,660 votes and Wanjari 57,615, which meant the BJP was ahead. Nobody reached the winning quota, so second-preference votes were counted, and the result turned there. It is being said that Wanjari received more second-preference votes than even the Congress had expected.

Compared with the 2020 election, Kohle's first-preference performance was considerably better. In the first round then, Wanjari had 55,947 votes and the BJP's Sandip Joshi 41,540, a lead of 14,407 for Wanjari. No one reached the quota that time either. In the second-preference count, Wanjari received 61,701 votes and Joshi 42,791.

After the defeat, there is talk within the BJP that the party is now defeating itself. In Nagpur district politics, it has long been said of the Congress that only the Congress can defeat it, a saying that referred to the party's infighting. Nagpur is the headquarters of the RSS, the home town of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the stronghold of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, which makes the result matter even more.

As soon as the candidate was announced, the local BJP organisation split into several camps. Some voiced displeasure quietly, while others openly opposed the choice. Former MLAs Anil Sole and Girish Vyas had rebelled openly. Despite an appeal from the party, Sole did not withdraw his nomination. The Chief Minister then had to go to his home to talk to him, after which Sole announced that he was stepping aside and would work in support of the official candidate. At the time there was speculation that even if the leaders had stepped back, the anger of their supporters among party workers might not have been resolved. Congress leaders had also claimed that disgruntled BJP workers would go against the functioning of senior leaders and that their candidate would benefit.

Kohle, too, left no stone unturned. For about a year and a quarter he had been in charge of voter registration for this seat. It was claimed that the BJP had registered more than 1.50 lakh graduate voters. Fadnavis and Gadkari also took charge of the campaign.

A pattern of writing 2 in the circle next to Kohle's name appeared on the ballot papers, which had never been seen in earlier elections. Thousands of these votes were declared invalid. It is being said that this hurt the BJP in the second-preference count. There is also talk that voters unhappy with the BJP gave their second-preference votes to the Congress. How true this is is hard to say, but such talk is going on among BJP workers themselves.

Infighting and discontent are nothing new in the Congress either, and the mood this time was similar. When one leader was on stage, another kept his distance. At the start, some leaders also expressed displeasure. In the final phase, all the main leaders took charge in their respective areas. Even if they were not seen together all the time, none interfered with or opposed the others' work. The leaders held meetings in their areas and communities and sought voters' support.

They include Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, former state Congress president Nana Patole, former ministers Nitin Raut, Sunil Kedar and Rajendra Mulak, MLA Vikas Thakre, city Congress president Praful Gudadhe and district president Ashwin Bais. Each drew up an election strategy at their own level, and together they succeeded in holding the seat.