Nagpur West: Congress, BJP Gear Up For Political Showdown

Nagpur West is considered one of the wealthiest constituencies in Nagpur city. As the constituency is gearing up for a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress, sitting MLA Vikas Thakre is seeking his second term on a grand old party ticket.

In the 2019 elections, Thakre secured victory by defeating the BJP sitting MLA Sudhakar Deshmukh. Thakre garnered 83,252 votes, and BJP’s Deshmukh received 76,885 votes. However, in the 2014 elections, the situation was different. Deshmukh won the seat by defeating Thakre with a margin of 26,402 votes.

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Besides a legislator, Thakre currently serves as the President of the Nagpur District Congress Committee and a former trustee of the Nagpur Improvement Trust (N.I.T.). In the past, he has also served as the leader of the opposition in Nagpur Municipal Corporation and former Nagpur mayor. He began his political journey as a corporator in Nagpur city, which houses the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters, the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Thakre unsuccessfully contested from Nagpur seat against Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and lost the seat by a margin of 1,37,603 votes. As he is seeking his second term, he relies on the grass-roots support in the constituency as well as the growing influence of Congress in the region. In Nagpur West, the BJP has been enjoying a stronghold since 1990, and with Thakre’s win in 2019, Congress dented the monopoly of the saffron party and hopes to maintain the seat this time as well.

But Congress’s re-nomination of Thakre was not without unrest. There is discontent among local party workers for choosing “outsiders” by neglecting prominent local leaders and loyalists. Despite his win from Nagpur West, he continues to reside in Nagpur West, which some party workers felt was detached from his leadership, especially when there were capable leaders for the seat within the local camp itself. Senior ex-corporator Kamlesh Chaudhary and party worker Vinil Chaurasiya were aspirants for the Congress ticket.

Thakre is going to face a tough fight from Congress rebel Narendra Jichkar from the constituency. Former MPCC’s ex-secretary Jichker submitted a nomination as an independent candidate, and as per the reports, he started campaigning in the assembly segment from last year itself. Hailing from a farmer’s family, Jichkar represents the OBC Kunbi community. He is likely to consume a large number of Congress votes in the polls.

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Meanwhile, the BJP, which encountered difficulty in finalising a candidate at first, has nominated Sudhakar Kohale for the seat. Former MLA Deshmukh has opted out of the polls, citing health reasons. Kohale currently serves as the BJP Nagpur (rural) president and was a former corporator representing the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). In the 2014 Assembly polls, Kohale contested from Nagpur South constituency and won the seat. He garnered 81,224 votes, and Congress’s Satish Chaturvedi emerged runner-up with 38,010 votes.

Earlier, he expressed his desire to contest from the South Nagpur seat in the upcoming polls, citing his 2014 win but nominated from Nagpur West.