Shekhar Shende For Wardha: Aiming For A First Win Amid Criticism (image: facebook.com/shekhar.shende.12)

Wardha, Maharashtra: The announcement of Congress leader Shekhar Shende’s candidacy from Wardha was not without setbacks. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partner, the NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction, who were insisting on getting the assembly seat, expressed discontent over choosing Shende, citing his previous electoral defeats.

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Shende is contesting the Wardha seat for the fourth time and has lost three consecutive assembly elections. In the 2019 Assembly elections, BJP candidate Pankaj Bhoyar won the election, securing 79,739 votes. Shende came runner-up with 71,806 votes. In the previous 2014 polls, Bhoyar secured 45,897 votes in the election and defeated Shende by a margin of 8,550 votes. In 2009, independent candidate Suresh Deshmukh won the seat, defeating Shende with a margin of 11,665 votes.

As per the Times of India report, Shende lost allegedly due to lobbying by a senior leader from the district. He comes from an influential political family. His father, Pramod Shende, was a six-time MLA from Wardha and secured the seat in 1978, 1980, 1985, 1995, 1999, and 2004. He has also served as the deputy speaker of the assembly. Congress announced Shende’s candidature, keeping caste equality and party loyalty in consideration. The party and Shende hope that they could bank on anti-incumbency sentiments against sitting BJP MLA Pankaj Bhoyar.

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Pankaj Bhoyar is seeking his third consecutive term from Wardha. Representing the Kunbi community, Bhoyar is also known to be close to Datta Meghe, a senior BJP leader who earlier belonged to Congress. He joined the BJP with Meghe. With Bhoyar’s win in 2014, the BJP secured two seats in the Wardha district for the first time. In 2019, Bhoyar retained the seat in the constituency and strengthened his position.

Wardha constituency has always been a Congress stronghold, but from 2014 onwards it started tilting towards BJP. The polls in the region are heavily influenced by the Teli-Kunbi caste equations in general, but in the upcoming polls, parties are focusing on other castes as well, TOI reports. Since the BJP incurred losses in the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party is concentrating voters of the other castes, such as OBCs, SCs, and STs.