In the midst of negotiations and pressures surrounding seat sharing, the ruling BJP has expressed a strong desire to contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the Vidarbha region. The BJP’s insistence on Vidarbha arises from its robust organizational presence and leadership in the area, providing it an advantage over its alliance partners, Sena (Shinde faction) and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).
Sources within the BJP revealed, “Vidarbha has been a stronghold for the BJP. The party boasts a well-established organizational base and cadre, giving it an upper hand. In all ten constituencies, the local district unit has proposed that the candidate be from the BJP.”
The Lok Sabha polls are scheduled for April-May 2024, with 10 out of the total 48 seats located in Vidarbha — Nagpur, Bhandara-Gondia, Chandrapur, Wardha, Ramtek, Gadchiroli, Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, and Yavatmal-Washim. Vidarbha, known as the state’s cotton belt, is broadly divided into eastern and western regions.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP and the undivided Sena contested together in Maharashtra, securing 23 and 18 seats, respectively. In Vidarbha, BJP won five seats — Nagpur, Akola, Wardha, Bhandara-Gondia, Gadchiroli — with 57,65,690 votes. The region’s political dynamics shifted due to the splits in Sena and NCP between 2021 and 2023.
BJP, aiming for deeper inroads in Vidarbha, is looking to contest constituencies previously held by Sena. The party believes it will face strong competition from Congress in Vidarbha, prompting a strategic approach in this traditional bastion. The seat-sharing talks among BJP, Sena (Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) are expected to involve mutual considerations and negotiations.
A senior BJP functionary, speaking on condition of anonymity, emphasized that the party’s strong leadership in Vidarbha, including figures like Nitin Gadkari, Devendra Fadnavis, and Chandrashekhar Bawankule, will play a crucial role. Bawankule highlighted that PM Narendra Modi will be the face of BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and decisions on constituencies will be based on organizational strength and the candidate’s winnability factor.
Meanwhile, State Congress President Nana Patole expressed the party’s focus on enhancing electoral fortunes in the entire Vidarbha region, emphasizing the lone Lok Sabha seat secured in Chandrapur in 2019.
