Anil Sole withdraws from Nagpur graduates' poll; BJP's Kohle to face Congress's Wanjari directly

The infighting in the BJP over the Nagpur division graduates' constituency election has ended. Senior BJP leader and former MLA Anil Sole, who had rebelled and filed his nomination as an independent, has announced that he is withdrawing his candidature.

Former MLA Girish Vyas, who had openly expressed displeasure over the party's style of functioning, resigned from the party's primary membership and supported Sole's rebellion, has also been won over by senior BJP leaders. Vyas has withdrawn his resignation.

With this, the internal dispute in the Nagpur BJP has cooled down, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's efforts to placate the rebels have borne fruit. The contest in this election will now be a direct fight between the BJP's Sudhakar Kohle and the Congress's Abhijit Wanjari.

The BJP had fielded former MLA Sudhakar Kohle as its candidate this time. Anil Sole, a senior party leader and former MLA, had also wanted to contest from the constituency. He filed his nomination as an independent candidate and raised the banner of revolt against the party. Former MLA Girish Vyas then openly backed Sole's stand. As a result, the BJP faced a major challenge from within its own ranks in the Nagpur graduates' constituency. The efforts of the party's senior leaders have now succeeded, and the BJP and the Congress will face each other directly in the Nagpur division graduates' constituency.

An important BJP meeting to finalise preparations and strategy for winning the election was held in Nagpur on October 12. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was present at the meeting. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, all of the party's MLAs and its key office-bearers also attended. The meeting also discussed how to quell the rebellion within the party.

Afterwards, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis went to rebel candidate Anil Sole's house and persuaded him. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also spoke to Sole and tried to convince him. A few days earlier, state president Ravindra Chavan had also gone to Sole's house, but could not meet him as Sole was away. Finally, honouring the request of the party's senior leaders, Anil Sole withdrew his name and extended support to the party's official candidate Sudhakar Kohle. He has also appealed to party workers to ensure Kohle's victory.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on the matter that Anil Sole is a senior leader and has played a part in building the BJP in Nagpur. He has always been the one to look after party workers. According to Fadnavis, Sole had said earlier that he was not unhappy with the party, but with its style of functioning. His displeasure was not about any particular decision but about how the decision-making process works. He had said that as many people as possible should be consulted when decisions are taken. The Chief Minister said that his grievances have been noted and it has been decided to change the party's way of functioning.