Nagpur: The number ‘2’ became a flashpoint in the Nagpur graduates’ constituency election, with BJP blaming invalid ballots for Sudhakar Kohale’s defeat and the transfer of second-preference votes helping Congress ’s Abhijit Wanjarri secure a second consecutive term.
Of the 2.55 lakh registered voters, around 1.65 lakh cast their ballots. Over 15,000 votes were declared invalid during counting. Kohale, who lost by 3,271 votes, blamed invalid ballots for his defeat. BJP sought verification and recounting of approximately 15,000 invalid ballots, but the request was rejected by the authorities. After 35 candidates had been eliminated, Wanjarri had 58,405 votes against Kohale’s 61,734. Of Karale’s transferred preferences, 8,727 went to Wanjarri, taking his tally to 67,231, while 2,226 went to Kohale. The final declared tally was 67,231 for Wanjarri and 63,960 for Kohale, giving the Congress candidate a margin of 3,271 votes.
Because voters marked ‘2’ against Kohale’s name without assigning a first preference, bJP functionaries claimed that around 8,000 to 9,500 ballots were rejected. Because voters circled the numeral ‘1’ or recorded preferences in the corners of ballot papers, other ballots were reportedly invalidated. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Nagpur | Silver Rate in Nagpur | Bank Holidays in Nagpur | Public Holidays in Nagpur | Petrol Price in Nagpur | Diesel Price in Nagpur | CNG Price in Nagpur | LPG Price in Nagpur Stay updated with the latest Nagpur news.
He told the media that the rejected votes could have altered the outcome and claimed he would have crossed the winning quota on first-preference votes had the ballots been accepted. BJP functionaries questioned how thousands of graduate voters could make similar errors despite the preferential voting system. They also raised doubts about whether the pattern reflected inadvertent mistakes, inadequate voter awareness or a deliberate attempt to influence the outcome. Nitesh Karale, an NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) rebel, was eliminated in the 36th stage, triggering a transfer of his votes. Download the TOI App.