Charan Waghmare: Former BJP MLA Contesting On NCP (SP) Ticket From Tumsar (image: instagram.com/charanwaghmareofficial)

Bhandara, Maharashtra: Ahead of Assembly elections, BJP leader Charan Waghmare and his colleagues joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar. He is the chairperson of the Vikas Foundation. Former MLA from Tumsar, Waghmare, is the NCP (Pawar) nominee for the assembly segment. He is fielded against sitting MLA Raju Karemore of the NCP (Ajit Pawar).

Known leader at the local level, Waghmare’s political career is marked by shifting political allegiances. He had served as the chairman of the working committee of Bhandara Zilla Parishad (BZP) between 2010 and 2013, and in 2014, he became Bhandara District BJP chief.

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In the 2014 Assembly polls, Waghmare contested from the constituency on a BJP ticket and won. He secured 73,952 votes, while Madhukar Kukade garnered 45,273 votes. However, in the 2019 polls, the BJP gave a nomination to Pradeep Padole. Waghmare rebelled against his move by contesting as an independent candidate. Though NCP candidate Raju Karemore won the seat, Waghmare lost the seat only by a margin of 7700 votes. He got expelled from the BJP for fielding against  the official candidate.

In 2020, Waghmare rejoined the BJP, and in 2022, he became Bhandara Zilla Parishad Election Head. In the Bhandara Zilla Parishad (BZP) Election in 2022, he got expelled again from the party for extending support to elect Congress candidate Gangadhar Jibkate as the president. Last year, Waghmare joined  but in October 2014, when the party lost the Telangana Assembly election, they withdrew from the idea of expanding in Maharashtra. Then he joined the NCP (Pawar) faction.

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Waghmare’s candidacy by the NCP has raised criticism from the alliance partner Congress itself. District president Kiran Atkari inquired how Pawar allowed Waghmare, who shifted various parties and was bereft of political allegiance, to be given party nominations. Waghmare supported the grand old party in the Lok Sabha polls; then why the latter is defiant to his candidacy is unknown. Aside from the ally, even within the Pawar group itself, Waghmare’s candidacy has been taken as jolt. Since he opposed the NCP in the Zilla Parishad elections, the leaders of the NCP are now against him and his nomination.