Congress's Abhijit Wanjari wins Nagpur graduates' seat on second-preference votes of Karale

Nagpur, October 28: Congress candidate Abhijit Wanjari defeated BJP's Sudhakar Kohle in the Nagpur division graduates' constituency election. In a close contest, the second-preference votes of independent candidate Nitesh Karale, also known as Karale Guruji, proved the most crucial turning point in Wanjari's win.

In the early rounds of counting of first-preference votes, the BJP was trailing. In later rounds, Sudhakar Kohle built a lead of about 4,000 votes. After counting for 30 candidates was completed, this lead had grown to nearly 5,000 votes.

Then the second-preference votes of the last three candidates began to be counted, and the picture started to change. Kohle's lead fell to about 1,200 votes. At that point, roughly 14,000 votes of Nitesh Karale were still to be counted. The second-preference votes of the voters who had backed Karale went in large numbers in favour of Congress's Abhijit Wanjari. This wiped out Kohle's lead and Wanjari won.

The Nagpur graduates' constituency has long been regarded as a strong BJP bastion. The party's defeat in a constituency under the political influence of leaders such as Gangadharrao Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has raised several questions.

In the previous election, Anil Sole was denied a ticket, after which the BJP faced defeat. This time the party fielded Sudhakar Kohle despite the displeasure of party workers. This kept dissatisfaction alive within the organisation.

Given Anil Sole's resentment and rebellious stance, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to go to his house himself to try to placate him. The BJP's prestige was at stake in the election. The Chief Minister had also stayed in Nagpur for two days and held meetings with representatives of educational institutions, social organisations and professional bodies.

Seeing the higher turnout, the BJP had expected to win on the strength of first-preference votes. But in the final stage of counting, the second-preference votes changed the whole equation.

The result has raised serious questions for the BJP about dissatisfaction within the organisation and the choice of candidate. Political discussion is now likely to intensify over whether the decision to stick with the candidate despite the workers' displeasure cost the party dearly.

Nitesh Karale's votes also showed that in contests such as graduates' constituency elections, an early lead alone is not decisive. Second-preference votes can change the final result completely. Despite the BJP's strong political base in Nagpur, the Congress win makes it clear that election strategy, organisational unity and voters' preferences can change the outcome of any contest.