Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Vidarbha could be the gateway to Mumbai

The stakes of several political bigwigs including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of the Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, state Congress President Nana Patole among others would be sealed in Vidarbha.

Nagpur: The central Indian region of Vidarbha, which was a Congress stronghold over the past decade, became an arena of the BJP amid the churning in Maharashtra politics.

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls, however, have allowed a comeback for the grand old party.

The Nagpur city, the hub of Vidarbha, is considered the geographical centre of India -- and the Zero Mile is located here -- adding to the significance of the region.

With 62 seats in kitty of the total 288 seats of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Vidarbha could well be the gateway to Mumbai.

Vidarbha region houses Wardha, which has the Sevagram Ashram, the residence of Mahatma Gandhi from 1936 to his death in 1948. The region has significantly contributed to the Independence movement.

The adjoining district of Nagpur houses the headquarters of RSS, the ideological fountainhead of the BJP. Popularly known as Doctorji, Keshav Baliram Hegdewar founded RSS in Nagpur with the ideology of Hindutva and goal of creation of Hindu Rashtra.

With two diametrically-opposite ideologies, the region is witnessing a similar fight -- in 35 of the 62 seats, the Congress and BJP are engaged in an eyeball to eyeball conflict.

The stakes of several political bigwigs including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of the Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, state Congress President Nana Patole among others would be decided.

“The performance of Vidarbha is going to be counted on who forms the next government. It is a battleground region which can swing things here and there,” said Vivek Bhavsar, a veteran political analyst. “Cotton and soybean are big issues here. Vidarbha had been the hub of agrarian distress,” he said, adding that the BJP has worked on consolidating the OBC vote bank.

“From the Lok Sabha polls to Vidhan Sabha polls, we see a change in the political situation on the ground. While the general elections came as a blow to the BJP and the Maha Yuti. However, as far as opposition is concerned, a lot of time has gone in seat-sharing in the region between Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT led by Uddhav Thackeray,” said independent political observer Varun Singh.

“We have seen a lot of changes in the ground in the last three months. The OBCs who had swayed away are extending support to us,” said Ajay Pathak, the state BJP spokesperson who is based in Nagpur.

“Things are not easy for the BJP. The Congress has managed to reach out to the traditional voters,” said senior Congressman Anil Wadpalliwar.

The two dominant communities in Vidarbha are Kunbi and Teli, who largely side with Congress and BJP, respectively. “While Congress is banking on its time-tested formula of DMK, which stands for Dalits, Muslims and Kunbis, the BJP has consolidated the OBCs, micro OBCs and Banjara community,” said a senior Vidarbha leader.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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