Congress leader Pawan Khera took a swipe at the BJP after the party lost the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council election, with sitting MLC Abhijit Wanjari defeating BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes.

The result is a setback for the BJP in Nagpur, the home turf of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, both of whom had campaigned extensively for Kohale.

“And then Modi Sahib lost the MLC from his own Lok Sabha constituency. What's more, the BJP lost in Nagpur too. Guess who won in Nagpur?” Khera wrote on X, taking aim at the BJP following the result.

Wanjari secured 67,231 votes, while Kohale received 63,960 votes. The closely fought contest went into the second-preference counting stage after no candidate secured the required quota on first-preference votes.

The counting process began on Tuesday morning and concluded in the early hours of Thursday. Kohale had taken an early lead and was ahead of Wanjari by 4,294 votes after the second round of counting on Wednesday.

At that stage, Kohale had received 60,924 first-preference votes, compared with Wanjari’s 56,630. Independent candidate Nitesh Karale had secured 24,249 votes.

As no candidate reached the required quota, officials proceeded to count second-preference votes through the elimination rounds. Wanjari eventually finished ahead with 67,231 votes against Kohale’s 63,960, a senior election official told PTI.

Reacting to the victory on October 28, Wanjari said the BJP had deployed its leaders and resources in Nagpur but voters had backed him.

“The BJP exerted all its might—all their leaders were present in Nagpur—yet the voters stood with us,” he said.

Wanjari credited the Congress’s unity and the support of Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders and workers for the outcome. He also said 48 organisations had backed his campaign, adding that the victory belonged to the workers and leaders of those organisations.

A closely watched contest in Nagpur

The result carries added political significance because Nagpur is associated with Fadnavis and Gadkari. Gadkari had represented the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency in the Legislative Council for several terms.

Wanjari had defeated BJP candidate Sandip Joshi in the previous election and has now retained the seat for the Congress, overcoming Kohale’s early lead in a closely contested race.

With agency inputs