Mohan Mate Versus Girish Pandav In Nagpur South

The controversial Nagpur South seat, which had become a point of conflict between Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), went to the Congress. In the upcoming elections, Girish Krushnarao Pandav will contest from the assembly segment on a Congress ticket, wherein the BJP has fielded the sitting MLA, Mohan Mate.

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Both leaders fought against each other in the previous assembly election. In the 2019 polls, Mate won the seat, defeating Pandav. BJP leader has garnered 84,339 votes, while Pandav received 80,326 votes. Prior to this, Mate represented the constituency in 1999.  Representing the Kunbi community, he enjoys the confidence of top leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Nitin Gadkari. He has also served as the Trustee of Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT).

Since Pandav has given a tough fight against Mate in the last Assembly polls and lost the seat to just 4,013 votes, the grand old party entrusted confidence in him once again. As Mate is aiming for a third term, Pandav will focus on the anti-incumbency sentiments and other issues in his election campaigns.

Nagpur is generally considered a stronghold for the BJP. The OBC-dominate constituency has been with the BJP since 2014, when the current district president, Sudhakar Kohale, emerged victorious in the election. Kohale has defeated Congress candidate Satish Chaturvedi by a margin of 43,214 votes. In the 2014 election, Govindrao Wanjari of Congress had won the seat, but his untimely demise led to a by-election in 2005, and Congress candidate Dinanth Padole secured victory then. Padole retained the position in 2009.

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The 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra will go to polls on November 20 and counting of votes will take place on November 23. The ruling Mahayuti alliance consists of the BJP, the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena, and the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).  The opposition alliance comprise the INDIA bloc’s MVA or the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which has the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), or SS (UBT) led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray, the NCP (SP) faction led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress.