Congress beats BJP in Nagpur again as MVA takes three MLC seats in Maharashtra

UPDATE - follow-up to In setback to BJP, Congress wins Nagpur MLC seat: The Maha Vikas Aghadi opposition alliance has secured three out of five graduates and teachers seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, leaving the ruling Mahayuti alliance with two seats.

Election Results

Congress sitting MLC Abhijeet Wanjari defeated BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes in Nagpur. Mr. Wanjari secured 67,231 votes, while Mr. Kohale got 63,960 votes. This marks the second time Congress has beaten the BJP on its home turf of Nagpur, which also hosts the RSS headquarters and was previously held by the BJP for 58 years until 2020. Across the five contested seats, Sharad Pawar's NCP SP won two seats and Congress won one, while the ruling alliance took the remaining two.

Reactions

Maharashtra Congress president Harshawardhan Sapkal stated that the illusionary bubble of Modi and Fadnavis has burst. Mr. Sapkal noted that the defeat happened in the home city of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari despite money and muscle power. NCP SP leader Supriya Sule congratulated victorious candidate Harshada Deshmukh Jadhav with a ceremonial aarti lamp. The BJP called for introspection among its alliance partners following the embarrassment.

Ballot Papers

Opposition leaders hit out at the BJP over arrogance and overconfidence, pointing to a deleted social media post by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. NCP SP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto and MLA Rohit Pawar noted that these elections used ballot papers. Mr. Crasto urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to move the country back to using ballot papers for all elections. Mr. Pawar highlighted that the Chief Minister had personally campaigned door-to-door in Nagpur to convince rebels to withdraw before facing defeat.

Context

Legislative Council elections in India serve as an important indicator of political moods among educated professionals and teachers in states. Defeats in long-standing stronghold regions often prompt major political parties to re-evaluate their ground strategies and candidate selections ahead of larger assembly polls.