Nagpur MLC Result: Congress’ Abhijeet Wanjari Beats BJP in RSS Stronghold; MVA Wins 3 Seats

Congress Retains Nagpur MLC Seat

Congress candidate Abhijeet Wanjari has defeated BJP rival Sudhakar Kohale to retain the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections.

The result was declared on Thursday, October 29, 2026, after a counting process that lasted more than 40 hours. Wanjari secured 67,231 votes, while Kohale received 63,960 votes, giving the Congress candidate a winning margin of 3,271 votes.

BJP Suffers Setback in RSS Stronghold

The result is politically significant because Nagpur is closely associated with the RSS and is the home turf of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Both BJP leaders had campaigned extensively for Kohale. The defeat therefore gave the Congress an opportunity to challenge the BJP’s political dominance in the region.

The Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency had previously been represented by Gadkari for several terms, from 1990 to 2014, before he moved to national politics. Wanjari had also defeated a BJP candidate in the previous election.

Counting Continued for More Than 40 Hours

The counting process began on Tuesday morning and continued into the early hours of Thursday.

Kohale initially appeared to be in a strong position. After the second round of first-preference counting, he had secured 60,924 votes against Wanjari’s 56,630. Independent candidate Nitesh Karale had received 24,249 votes.

However, no candidate reached the required quota under the preferential voting system. The count therefore proceeded to elimination rounds involving second-preference votes, after which Wanjari emerged victorious.

Abhijeet Wanjari Credits Congress Workers and MVA Unity

Following his victory, Wanjari said the BJP had deployed its political resources and senior leaders in Nagpur, but voters had ultimately supported Congress.

He credited the party’s workers, leaders and organisations that backed his campaign. Wanjari also highlighted the unity of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which brings together opposition parties in Maharashtra.

His victory allows Congress to retain the seat and gives the MVA a significant result in a constituency where the BJP had invested considerable political effort.

MVA Wins Three of Five Maharashtra MLC Seats

The Nagpur result was part of a wider contest involving five Maharashtra Legislative Council constituencies.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi won three seats, while the ruling Mahayuti alliance secured two. The results were:

ConstituencyWinning candidatePartyNagpur Division Graduates’Abhijeet WanjariCongressPune Graduates’Harshada Deshmukh-JadhavNCP (Sharadchandra Pawar)Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’MVA candidateNCP (Sharadchandra Pawar)Pune Teachers’Kaustubh GawadeBJPAmravati Teachers’Kiran SarnaikShiv Sena

The results indicate that the opposition alliance performed strongly in the graduates’ constituencies, while the BJP and Shiv Sena won the two teachers’ seats.

BJP’s Earlier Celebration Turns Into a Political Taunt

The result also triggered a war of words between Congress and BJP leaders.

Before all results were finalised, BJP leaders had suggested that Congress had drawn a blank in the MLC elections. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had posted a message referring to the party’s supposed “big fat zero”.

After Wanjari’s victory, the Maharashtra Congress criticised Fadnavis for deleting the post and used the Nagpur result to question the BJP’s political messaging. The exchange became another episode in the ongoing political rivalry between the two parties.

What Does the Nagpur Result Mean for Maharashtra Politics?

Wanjari’s victory gives Congress a symbolic and electoral boost in a constituency associated with the BJP and the RSS.

For the MVA, winning three of the five seats strengthens its claim that the opposition alliance remains competitive in Maharashtra. The result also highlights the importance of candidate support, local organisations and preference-based counting in Legislative Council elections.

However, the outcome of a graduates’ constituency election should not automatically be treated as a prediction of the next Assembly election. Statewide electoral trends depend on a broader range of factors, including alliances, local issues, candidates and voter turnout.

Key Takeaways

• Congress candidate Abhijeet Wanjari retained the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency.

• Wanjari defeated BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes.

• Wanjari secured 67,231 votes, compared with Kohale’s 63,960.

• Counting continued for more than 40 hours before the result was declared.

• Nagpur is the home turf of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

• The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi won three of the five MLC seats contested in Maharashtra.

• The BJP and Shiv Sena secured one seat each.

• The result gave Congress an opportunity to challenge the BJP’s political messaging following its earlier claims that Congress had drawn a blank.

Bottom Line

Abhijeet Wanjari’s victory in Nagpur has handed Congress a significant win in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, particularly because the constituency is associated with the BJP and the RSS. The MVA’s three-seat tally provides the opposition alliance with a political boost, while the BJP faces questions over its performance in a region where its senior leaders campaigned extensively.