Who Is Abhijit Wanjarri ? The Congress Leader Who Retained MLC Seat In RSS Stronghold Nagpur

Abhijit Govindrao Wanjarri has retained the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes. Wanjarri secured 67,231 votes against Kohale’s 63,960 after an extended counting process, winning the seat for a second consecutive term.

The result is significant because Nagpur is the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The city is also regarded as a BJP stronghold and houses the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Wanjarri’s victory was Congress’s sole win in the latest round of Legislative Council elections across four states. His win keeps the constituency with Congress and marks another electoral setback for the BJP in Nagpur.

Who Is Abhijit Wanjarri ?

Wanjarri is a Congress leader, lawyer and educationist who represents the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. His political career has involved student politics, party organisation and educational administration.

His family has a long association with Congress politics. His father, the late Govindrao Marotrao Wanjarri, was a Congress leader who served two terms as an MLA from the South Nagpur Assembly constituency.

Wanjarri studied at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, earning BA and LLB degrees. He also served on the university’s Senate and Management Council.

Between 1998 and 2002, he was general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). He later became secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress and served as general secretary and chief spokesperson of the Nagpur District Congress Committee. He has also worked as a Congress election observer in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Before entering the Legislative Council, Wanjarri contested the South Nagpur byelection in 2005 and the East Nagpur Assembly constituency in 2014 on Congress tickets but lost both contests.

Education And Social Work

Wanjarri is secretary of Amar Seva Mandal Shikshan Sanstha, which operates colleges offering courses in engineering, pharmacy, law, management, arts and science across Vidarbha.

He also chairs the Govind Urban Credit Co-operative Society. Through the Govindrao Wanjarri Foundation, he has been associated with health camps, blood donation drives, tree plantation programmes and youth development activities.

In December 2020, Wanjarri contested the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency as a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate and defeated the BJP’s Sandip Joshi by 18,910 votes. He secured 61,701 votes against Joshi’s 42,791, ending the BJP’s 58-year hold on the seat.

His latest victory ensures that Congress retains the constituency for another term.

Why The Nagpur Result Matters

Both Fadnavis and Gadkari campaigned for Kohale, adding significance to the contest in a city associated with the BJP’s political base.

Wanjarri’s win was Congress’s only victory in the latest round of Legislative Council elections, in which 28 seats were contested across Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Congress did not field candidates in Uttar Pradesh.

The result gives Wanjarri a second consecutive term and continues Congress’s representation of graduate voters in Nagpur.