Nagpur: In the landslide victory recorded by the Mahayuti comprising Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and Nationalist Congress, its remarkable tally of 53 out of 62 in Vidarbha may give the alliance something more to cheer. The BJP has set a new record by bagging 45 seats, a seat more than the highest of 44 it had secured in the Narendra Modi maiden tsunami of 2014. The results have come as a huge surprise for poll pundits of every hue as the Congress-led MVA which was expecting a clean sweep in Vidarbha, had to bite dust. Top leaders of the Congress and Shiv Sena have tumbled while the NCP (Pawar) was totally wiped out.

At least in 35 of the 62 seats in this region, the BJP and the Congress were in one-on-one fights. Once again it has been proved that in direct contests the BJP gets the better of the Congress. Shockingly for the Congress, its state president and wannabe chief minister candidate Nana Patole was defeated in the Sakoli constituency of Bhandara district by Avinash Brahmankar of the BJP. Among other stalwarts who have lost badly are former state Congress president Manikrao Thakre from Digras seat in Yavatmal who was defeated by Sanjy Rathod of Sena (Shinde). In the Teaosa constituency in the Amravati district, Yashomati Thakur is believed to be a core member of the party's icon Rahul Gandhi.

About The Final Tally

In the final tally of Vidarbha BJP got 45, Congress7, Shiv Sena (Shinde)5, NCP (Pawar) 3, Sena (UBT) 2, and NCP (Pawar) none (0).

The Congress-led MVA was on cloud 9 as it had hoped to repeat its Lok Saha elections performance when it had won 7 seats against a mere 3 won by the Mahayuti of the ten parliamentary constituencies. The BJP could win only two seats: Nagpur (Nitin Gadkari) and Akola ( Anup Dhotre) while Pratapsinh Jadhav won the Buldhana seat for Sena (Shinde).

NCP-SP Fails To Secure Any Assembly Seats

In a surprising turn, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar, which had secured one Lok Sabha seat from the region (Wardha) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, failed to win any assembly seats this time. This marks the first instance since its inception in 1999 that the NCP (Sharad Pawar) could not secure a single seat. The NCP (SP) fielded candidates in three constituencies within the Nagpur district alone —Hingna, Nagpur East, and Katol. The assault drama staged by former minister Anil Deshmukh to get sympathy for his son Salil Deshmuh proved to be a damp squib as Salil was defeated by Charansinh Thakur of the BJP with a comfortable margin.

The 2014 assembly elections were notable for the fact that all four major parties contested independently, allowing each to fully test its strength. The BJP at that time won 44 seats and that helped BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis to head the BJP-Sena government and complete successfully and smoothly a full term as CM. However, in 2019, the BJP's tally dipped to 29 seats in Vidarbha, which weakened its bargaining power in the pre-poll alliance with the Shiv Sena. The loss of 15 seats diminished the party's leverage, ultimately leading to the collapse of the alliance over disagreements regarding the chief minister's position.

About The Vidarbha Assembly Seat

Historically, Vidarbha has been a stronghold for the Congress party, which maintained a significant influence over Maharashtra's politics of the region for four decades till 1990. However, after that, the BJP has made serious inroads in the region and is now dominating the political scene, So much so that in the results announced today, the Congress has been wiped out competely from Gondia, Bhandara, Amravati, Buldhana districts not winning a single seat in these four districts.

Among the notable winners in this election was Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who secured his sixth term by defeating his Congress rival, Praful Gudadhe-Patil, in Nagpur South-West with a margin exceeding 30,000 votes. State BJP Chief Chandrasekhar Bawankule successfully retained the Kamptee seat for the BJP, having been denied a ticket in the 2019 elections, when BJP rural leader Tekchand Savarkar was nominated and won.

About Aheri Constituency

In the Aheri constituency, NCP candidate Dharmababa Atram triumphed over his nearest rival, Bhagyashree Atram, who is his daughter and contested as an NCP (SP) candidate in a triangular contest. Former Maharashtra minister Ambarish Atram, who was denied a ticket this time, ran as a rebel from the same constituency. Leader of the Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar managed to retain his Brahmapuri seat by a narrow margin, while state Congress chief Nana Patole lost his Sakoli seat to a relatively unknown candidate, Avinash Brahmankar. Patole had previously won the Sakoli seat in both 2009 and 2019.

RSS Watcher Dilip Deodhar On The Victory

RSS watcher Dilip Deodhar has said that the cohesive BJP campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and very well managed by Fadnavis could exceed expectations because of an X factor- the major role of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Not only did RSS cadres fanned out all through the region in door-to-door campaigns, but the Sangh got a valid reason and platform to polarise voters. The Hindu vote consolidation was done successfully thanks to the Islamic scholar Moulana Sajjad Nomani's direct call (fatwa) to defeat all Mahayuti candidates. The il-times letter to the Congress leadership of the Ulema Council raising 17 demands that the Congress accepted, also proved counterproductive. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's call for a caste census was also seen as an attempt to divide people. Modi's loud and clear call of "Ek hai toh safe hai'" won the day for the BJP.