Abhijit Wanjarri
After the 12-day campaign ended on Wednesday evening, party managers focused on booth-level coordination and bringing registered graduates to polling stations. the principal contest is between Kohale and Wanjarri While 38 candidates are in the fray.
“Many, including former ministers Nitin Raut and Sunil Kedar, former MPCC president Nana Patole, legislative party leader Vijay Wadettiwar and others campaigned in their own constituencies,” he said. Performance of smaller candidates and the final turnout may also shape the outcome. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis , Union minister Nitin Gadkari and state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule addressed meetings for Kohale and reached out to voters across the six districts of Nagpur division. BJP sought to convert its organisational strength and involvement of party brass into a decisive electoral advantage, with CM himself leading from the front. Congress, meanwhile, had a comparatively low-profile campaign. Wanjarri travelled across all six districts to reach graduates, while the participation of senior party functionaries remained limited. Sirivella Prasad, AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, attended a joint meeting of city and rural Congress functionaries to coordinate the campaign and rally support for Wanjarri. Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe denied that no big party functionary was seen in Wanjarri’s campaigning. The contest also carries an element of uncertainty. Anil Sole, who had rebelled after being denied a BJP ticket, relented following persuasion by CM and party functionaries. His name, however, remains on the ballot. Sole has appealed to voters not to cast votes for him. How many votes he ultimately receives could become a talking point, particularly if the margin between the main contenders is narrow. Other candidates include Nitesh Karale, contesting as an independent after breaking away from NCP (SP), Shikshak Bharati’s Atul Deshmukh and former Indian Revenue Service officer Satish Thul. NCP has expelled Karale from his party.
Nagpur: Who will graduate from Nagpur division’s politically charged electoral classroom today? As polling begins for the Graduates’ Constituency election on Friday morning, the contest will test whether BJP ’s mobilisation of party heavyweights for its candidate Sudhakar Kohale can dislodge sitting Congress MLC Abhijit Wanjarri who has largely campaigned single-handedly.