Maharashtra Assembly polls 2024: Devendra Fadnavis’s battle cry on home pitch, litmus test for Congress

Fadnavis is simply a fifth-term MLA who won Assembly polls from Nagpur West doubly (1999, 2004) and Nagpur South West thrice (2009, 2014, 2019).

Talking astir his candidature, authorities BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “Fadnavis ever does development-oriented politics, keeping people’s payment astatine the centre.”

This time, Fadnavis volition person to conflict it retired with Congress’s Praful Gudadhe astatine the Nagpur South West constituency. After the setback successful the precocious held Lok Sabha polls successful which the BJP-led Mahayuti won lone 17 constituencies against the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) 30 seats successful Maharashtra, each constituency successful the Vidarbha portion is tipped to witnesser an aggravated combat betwixt the ruling and the Opposition alliances successful the Assembly polls.

During the 2024 parliamentary polls, the Nagpur South West was among the 4 Assembly segments nether the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency wherever the BJP’s votes declined. The fig of votes polled by the BJP successful Nagpur South West was 1,13,501 compared to 1,20,185 successful 2019. While the Congress candidate’s votes accrued to 79,966 from the erstwhile 65,069.

Political pundits attributed this diminution to the beardown anti-BJP sentiment prevailing among the Dalit and Muslim communities that affected the party’s wide ballot stock during the Lok Sabha polls.

BJP Nagpur Lok Sabha campaigner Union Minister Nitin Gadkari defeated Congress metropolis main Vikas Thakre with a reduced borderline of 1.37 lakh votes successful 2024 arsenic against 2.14 lakh successful 2019.

Exuding optimism, Congress authorities main Nana Patole said, “The radical are with the Congress. They are disillusioned with Mahayuti. And it volition interaction seats successful Vidarbha.”

In the 2014 Assembly polls, Fadnavis defeated Gudadhe successful Nagpur South West. The 2014 Assembly elections saw a multi-corner contention – with the Shiv Sena, BJP, Congress, and the NCP, each contesting separately. In the 2014 Assembly elections, the BJP emerged arsenic the single-largest enactment winning 122 retired of 288 seats. Thereafter, Fadnavis became the main curate of Maharashtra and completed a afloat word (2014-2019).

Unlike the 2014 Assembly polls, erstwhile the BJP was successful the Opposition and utilized the anti-incumbency origin to its advantage, Fadnavis knows that the 2024 Assembly polls entail greater work and challenges, experts said.

Every constituency is important for the enactment and it has acceptable a people of 100-plus seats for itself. Unfazed by the electoral setbacks successful the Lok Sabha polls, Fadnavis has taken upon himself the formidable task to regain the mislaid ground. With the assistance of the Nagpur-headquartered Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, canvass observers said, the BJP is displaying greater determination successful fieldwork.

At successive meetings, Fadnavis’s connection to karyakartas was, “We tin win, we volition win.”

An MVA root admitted, “Nagpur South West is simply a prestigious seat. Fadnavis is decidedly a precise beardown candidate. Yet, the Congress volition springiness a pugnacious combat to the BJP. The Congress is relying connected Dalit, Muslim, and Kunbi votes crossed the 62 seats successful the Vidarbha region. It yielded electoral dividends successful the Lok Sabha contention wherever the Opposition won 7 retired of 10 seats. In the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP bagged 29 retired of 62 seats.”

The buzz successful the Congress is that Praful Gudadhe was not prepared successful 2014. The Narendra Modi-wave prevailing astatine that clip was beardown successful Nagpur too. So, Gudadhe’s decision was not a surprise.

Congress insiders admitted that Fadnavis arsenic CM campaigner was fashionable and acceptable successful 2019 arsenic well. “The Congress’s Ashish Deshmukh who had conscionable discontinue the BJP was nary match,” they added.

A instrumentality graduate, Fadnavis started his governmental vocation with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He achieved the feat of becoming a corporator astatine 22 years, and the second-youngest politician successful India astatine the property of 27. He besides became the 2nd youngest main curate astatine 44 years successful 2014. His 2nd tenure arsenic CM lasted for conscionable 80 hours aft the 2019 Assembly polls.

Fadnavis contested and won his archetypal Assembly predetermination from Nagpur West constituency successful 1999. He retained the spot successful the 2004 polls.

Following delimitation, a caller constituency Nagpur South West was constituted successful 2009. The BJP fielded Fadnavis from this recently restructured constituency wherever helium was pitted against Congress campaigner Vikas Thakre. Fadnavis polled 89,258 (51 per cent) votes against Thakre who got 61,483 votes (35.14 per cent). The winning borderline successful the recently carved spot was 27,775.

In the adjacent 2 elections (2014 and 2019), Fadnavis retained the Nagpur South West spot comfortably. In the 2014 polls, Fadnavis defeated Gudadhe by 58,942 votes.

Whereas, the 2019 Assembly polls saw Fadnavis contesting against turncoat Congress campaigner Ashish Deshmukh. While Fadnavis polled 1,09,238 votes (56.86 per cent), his nearest rival Deshmukh got 59,893 votes (31.18 per cent). However, Fadnavis’s triumph borderline got reduced to 49,344 votes.

The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly volition spell to the polls connected November 20, with the counting slated to beryllium held connected November 23.