Who Is Abhijit Wanjarri? Congress Leader Retains Nagpur MLC Seat, Defeats BJP In RSS Bastion

Mumbai: Congress leader Abhijit Wanjarri retained the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, defeating BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale after a counting process that stretched beyond a day. 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’s win came after he initially trailed Kohale in the first-preference vote count. Kohale secured 60,924 first-preference votes against Wanjarri’s 56,630, while independent candidate Nitesh Karale received 24,249 votes, according to reports. Wanjarri eventually moved ahead after second-preference votes were transferred from eliminated candidates.

Polling for the constituency took place on October 23, while counting began on October 27. The result also came amid a political exchange over the Congress’ performance in Legislative Council elections across several states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had questioned the party’s tally in polls to 28 council seats across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka, with BJP leaders describing its performance as a 'big zero'. Wanjarri’s victory gave Congress a win amid those claims.

The Nagpur Graduates’ seat has a long association with the BJP, which held it for nearly six decades before Wanjarri won it in 2020. Gadkari and Fadnavis’s late father, Gangadharrao Fadnavis, have also represented the constituency. Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said the latest result marked the party’s second consecutive victory over the BJP in the city.

Who Is Abhijit Wanjarri?

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 completed his Bachelor of Arts and law degrees at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. He subsequently served on the university’s Senate and Management Council, building connections with the education sector alongside his political work.

His political career began in student activism. Between 1998 and 2002, he served as the Maharashtra general secretary of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the Congress’s student wing. He later held positions in the Youth Congress and Nagpur district Congress organisation and served as a party election observer in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Beyond politics, Wanjarri is secretary of Amar Seva Mandal, an organisation that runs engineering, pharmacy, law, management and degree colleges in Vidarbha. He also chairs the Govind Urban Credit Co-operative Society and runs the Govindrao Wanjarri Foundation.

Wanjarri’s Electoral Journey

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. His latest victory allows him to retain the seat and continue representing the constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. 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. The MVA claimed three seats, including Pune Graduates’, where NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav won. The BJP and Shiv Sena secured one seat each.

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