Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Kamptee (Nagpur District): When Chandrashekhar Bawankule, a three-time MLA and then state Energy Minister, was denied a ticket in 2019, the OBC Teli community was annoyed over BJP’s decision.
In Vidarbha, the two dominant communities are OBC Kunbi and OBC Teli, which are largely with Congress and BJP, respectively.
Kamptee (also spelled Kamti), along the banks of Kanhan river on the outskirts of Nagpur, falls under the Ramtek (SC) Lok Sabha seat.
Kamptee was developed as a cantonment in the British era.
Now it houses Brigade of the Guards Regimental Centre
The impact was clearly felt in the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls in Vidarbha, which accounts for 62 seats.
In 2014, the BJP swept the polls with 43 seats while in 2019 it dropped to 29 - giving a jolt to the saffron party.
BJP rectified and in 2022, Bawankule was made a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council.
Later, he was made the Maharashtra BJP President replacing Chandrakant Patil.
In the post-poll scenario, Bawankule is expected to play a major role.
Bawankule will lock horns with Suresh Bhoyar, a former President of the Nagpur Zila Panchayat. Incidentally, Bhoyar’s father Yadavrao Bhoyar is a two-time MLA from the same seat.
"Winning is not an issue for Bawankule. What has to be seen is with what margin he wins," said Ajay Pathak, the state BJP spokesperson.
In 2019, after Bawankule was dropped, the BJP had Tekchand Sawarkar, who had defeated Bhoyar.
“Bawakule Saheb’s work speaks across Vidarbha. He is one of the most important leaders of the Teli community,” said Ajay Agarwal, the Treasurer of BJP’s Nagpur district.
Former councillor Pamod Yadav, whose forefathers have migrated from Allahabad (now Prayagraj), to this town, and has seen both the Congress and BJP days, said that a lot of things in Kamptee needs to be addressed. “As far as Bawankule Saheb is concerned, he has his own identity as a grassroots worker,” said Yadav, who has traversed a long political journey from Congress to being a BJP supporter.
A senior Congress leader, however, said: “There is a sizable population of Muslims and Dalits and Bawankule would be challenged in a big way by Bhoyar.”
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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