Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Will Congress retain Amravati constituency or Mahayuti strike a win?

The Amravati constituency is one of the 288 Assembly constituencies in the western state of Maharashtra, which is headed to the polls. 

Amravati Assembly constituency is one of the 288 constituencies of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha and one of the eight which are located in the Amravati district. It is a part of the Amravati (Lok Sabha constituency) along with five other Vidhan Sabha assembly constituencies -- Badnera, Teosa, Daryapur (SC), Melghat (ST) and Achalpur. 

In the 2024 Assembly Elections, the incumbent Sulbha Khodke, who switched over to NCP from Congress, will face off against Sunil Deshmukh (Congress) and Jagdish Gupta, a former BJP candidate fighting as an Independent this time. 

Polling stations 

According to the state Chief Election Commissioner (CEO), the Amravati constituency will have 322 polling stations. Overall, more than one lakh polling stations will be set up across Maharashtra for the 2024 Assembly elections. 

2019 Assembly Elections 

In the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, Sulbha Sanjay Khodke of the Congress emerged victorious by defeating the incumbent Sunil Deshmukh. Congress has been the most successful party in this constituency historically. 

Amravati serves as the administrative headquarters for both the Amravati district and division, which includes districts such as Akola, Buldhana, Washim and Yavatmal. Additionally, Amravati is one of the cities in Maharashtra designated under the Smart Cities Mission. 

As of the 2011 census, the population of Amravati city was 6,46,801, with a gender distribution of 3,30,544 males and 3,16,257 females, resulting in a sex ratio of 957 females per 1,000 males. Hinduism is the predominant religion in Amravati, with 61.8 percent of the population adhering to it, followed by Islam at 23.7 percent and Buddhism at 12.8 percent. 

Past results 

In the 2019 election results, Sulbha Sanjay Khodke of Congress received 82,582 votes, securing her victory, while Sunil Punjabrao Deshmukh of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received 64,313 votes. Khodke won the Amravati seat with a margin of 18,268 votes. 

Voter turnout 

In the 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Amravati constituency had 341728 registered voters but only saw 170779 votes cast — a turnout of 50 percent. 

Political landscape in 2024

The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections will unfold against a backdrop of a fractured political landscape, with the Shiv Sena and NCP factions facing off against each other. The Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar-led factions will challenge the BJP, with both the BJP and Congress aiming to expand their influence. The upcoming polls will determine whether the Mahayuti alliance can further consolidate its position or if the MVA will make a comeback.