Similar to the results in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP and its alliance partners faced disappointment in Vidarbha, with the “Mahayuti” (Grand Alliance) winning only 3 out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in the region. This is a stark contrast to their performance in previous elections, where the NDA secured all 10 seats in 2014 and nine out of 10 in 2019.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, often referred to as the ‘highway man of India,’ secured his third term from the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency, defeating his Congress rival, Vikas Thakre, by approximately 1.40 lakh votes. However, senior BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Sudhir Munganttiwar suffered a significant loss by over 2 lakh votes in the Chandrapur constituency to Congress’ Pratibha Dhanorkar.
In the Amravati constituency (reserved for SC), sitting BJP MP Navneet Rana was defeated by Congress’ Balwant Wankhede. Rana had won the seat in 2019 as an independent with support from the united NCP and Congress, later joining the BJP despite opposition from some local BJP members.
The BJP managed to retain the Akola seat with Anup Dhotre defeating his nearest Congress rival, Dr. Abhay Patil, by a margin of over 40,000 votes. Notably, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, became an insignificant player in these elections after unsuccessful negotiations with the opposition alliance.
In Buldhana, three-term sitting MP Prataprao Jadhav of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) retained his seat, defeating Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Narendra Khedekar by over 34,200 votes. However, in Bhandara-Gondia, sitting BJP MP Sunil Mendhe, who initially led, lost to Congress’ Dr. Prashant Padole by over 29,000 votes.
The Maha-Vikas-Aghadi candidates secured victories in other constituencies, displacing the BJP-led coalitions. In Gadchiroli, Congress nominee Namdeo Kirsan won by a significant margin of over 1.40 lakh votes against BJP’s two-term MP, Ashok Nete. Congress also won the Ramtek (reserved for SC) seat, with newcomer Shyamrao Barve defeating Sena (Shinde) nominee Raju Parwe by over 80,000 votes. Initially, Congress had nominated Barve’s wife, Rashmi, but her candidacy was rejected due to a false caste certificate, leading to Shyamrao’s nomination.
In Wardha, incumbent BJP MP Ramdas Tadas lost to NCP (Sharad Pawar) candidate Amar Kale by around 85,000 votes. The opposition accused Tadas of abandoning his daughter-in-law Pooja and her baby, prompting Pooja to run against Tadas. Although she lost her security deposit, her campaign negatively impacted Tadas’ prospects.
In Yavatmal-Washim, Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh from SS (UBT) defeated Rajshri Hemant Patil from SS (Shinde) by around one lakh votes. SS (Shinde) had denied a party ticket to its five-time MP Bhavna Gawli, instead fielding Rajshri Patil, wife of Hemant Patil, who represented Hingoli in the 2019 elections.
