Congress's Abhijit Wanjari wins Nagpur graduates' seat for second time by 3,271 votes

Congress candidate Abhijit Govindrao Wanjari has won the Nagpur Division Graduates' constituency for a second consecutive time. The result was declared after a count that ran for more than 41 hours. Wanjari got 67,231 votes, while BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale secured 63,960. Wanjari thus won by a margin of 3,271 votes. The contest was closely fought.

With the result, the affidavit Wanjari filed with the Election Commission has also come into focus. It details the 18 criminal cases against him and his assets worth crores of rupees.

According to the ADR and the candidate's election affidavit, 18 criminal cases are registered against Wanjari, with several IPC sections invoked. They include cases relating to voluntarily causing grievous hurt (Sections 325 and 323) and obscene acts and songs (Section 294). The affidavit also lists charges of kidnapping (Section 363), rioting (Section 147) and rioting while armed with a deadly weapon (Section 148). There are charges of unlawful assembly (Sections 143, 145 and 149) and criminal intimidation (Section 506). Cases have also been registered for obstructing or assaulting a public servant (Section 353), criminal trespass (Sections 452, 447 and 448) and disobedience of government orders (Sections 188, 269 and 270). According to the affidavit, he has not been convicted in any of these cases.

On assets, the affidavit says Wanjari and his family hold immovable property worth more than Rs 12.34 crore. This includes agricultural land worth about Rs 1.74 crore, plots worth Rs 3.40 crore and commercial property worth Rs 1.20 crore. Residential property totals Rs 6 crore and includes flats in Worli and Mahalaxmi in Mumbai.

Movable assets are recorded at more than Rs 3.87 crore. These include bank deposits, insurance policies, vehicles such as a Toyota Fortuner and a Hyundai Creta, and gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 18.50 lakh. Total assets thus come to above Rs 16.21 crore. Liabilities of more than Rs 3.17 crore are also recorded against him.

Wanjari was born in Nagpur on May 10, 1973, and comes from a well-known political family. His father, the late Govindrao Marotrao Wanjari, was twice a Congress MLA from the Nagpur South Assembly constituency. Wanjari holds a BA LLB degree from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Law, Nagpur University. He was general secretary of the NSUI Maharashtra unit from 1998 to 2002. He is also secretary of the Amar Seva Mandal, which runs 10 colleges. His wife, Smita Wanjari, is a lecturer in English and a member of the Nagpur University Senate.

Wanjari first won the seat in the 2020 election, breaking the BJP's dominance of about six decades. The area is home to the RSS headquarters and is also the home turf of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The repeat win is seen as highly significant for the Congress.