Abhijit Wanjarri Retains Nagpur MLC Seat

Congress leader Abhijit Wanjarri has retained the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. He defeated BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes.

Wanjarri initially trailed Kohale in the first-preference vote count, but moved ahead after second-preference votes were transferred from eliminated candidates.

The victory is crucial for Congress in Nagpur, home to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters and the political stronghold of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Wanjarri attributed the win to unity within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the backing of 48 social and employee organisations. The result formed part of a broader contest in Maharashtra’s five Legislative Council seats, with the MVA claiming three seats and the BJP and Shiv Sena securing one seat each.

Abhijit Wanjarri is an advocate and Congress politician from Nagpur who comes from a family with political and educational links in the region. His late father, Govindrao Vanjari, was a two-time Congress MLA from South Nagpur.

Wanjarri’s electoral record included setbacks before his breakthrough in the Legislative Council. He lost the 2005 South Nagpur Assembly by-election and the 2014 East Nagpur Assembly election. In 2020, he won the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency by defeating BJP candidate Sandip Joshi by 18,910 votes.