Nanded Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra has long been a bastion of the Congress party. However, with veteran leader Ashok Chavan, who held the seat twice previously, severing ties with the grand old party to join the BJP, the saffron party now stands in a stronger position to retain control.
While the primary contenders in Nanded include the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) incumbent MP Pratap Patil Chikhalikar and opposition INDIA bloc candidate Vasant Chavan, the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has also entered the fray with Avinash Bhosikar as their candidate.
Nanded, situated in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, has historically stood as a formidable stronghold of the Congress party. The district has proudly contributed two Chief Ministers to Maharashtra's political landscape: firstly, the late Shankarrao Chavan, who served two terms from 1975 to 1977 and from 1986 to 1988, followed by his son Ashok Chavan, who also held the esteemed position twice – from 2008 to 2009 and then from 2009 to 2010.
However, in a significant political maneuver in February of this year, Ashok Chavan parted ways with the grand old party and aligned himself with the ruling BJP. He subsequently secured a seat in the Rajya Sabha as a member of the saffron party later that month.
Chavan had previously represented the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency twice – in 1987 and 2014. Notably, Nanded was one of the two seats that the Congress managed to secure in Maharashtra during the 2014 elections, the other being Hingoli.
Nevertheless, in the 2019 elections, Pratap Patil Chikhalikar of the BJP emerged victorious over Ashok Chavan of the Congress in the Nanded constituency by a substantial margin of over 40,000 votes.
In the previous Lok Sabha election, the VBA candidate, Yashpal Bhinge, amassed a notable 1.66 lakh votes, a factor believed to have significantly influenced the Congress's electoral prospects.
The upcoming election for this seat is scheduled for April 26, featuring a crowded field of 23 candidates vying for victory.
In conversation with PTI, seasoned journalist Sanjeev Kulkarni, based in Nanded, provided insights, stating, “Historically, elections in Nanded revolved around the battle between Ashok Chavan and other contenders. There was a prevailing sentiment of sympathy towards Chavan, but his recent departure from the Congress to join the BJP has stirred discontent among voters, particularly in rural areas of Nanded.” Kulkarni further noted the influence of the Maratha agitation and predicted potential setbacks for BJP's Chikhalikar in comparison to the Congress candidate, attributing this to anti-incumbency sentiments.
He elaborated, “The VBA candidate hails from the OBC community. Traditionally, OBC voters in Nanded have leaned towards the BJP, but this time, the vote bank may splinter.”