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Congress' Vijay Wadettiwar leading from Brahmapuri against BJP's Krishnalal Bajirao Sahare in Maharashtra election
Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition, leads by 2810 votes in Brahmapuri, with BJP’s Krishnalal Sahare trailing behind.
Vijay Wadettiwar, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and a prominent Congress leader, is currently leading by 2810 votes in the Brahmapuri constituency. His closest competitor, Krishnalal Bajirao Sahare of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is trailing. Wadettiwar first won from Brahmapuri in 2014, marking a significant milestone in his political career.
The 61-year-old politician was earlier associated with Shiv Sena and was elected from the Chimur constituency in 2004. He later joined the Congress party and won from the assembly segment in a bypoll held in 2006.
(Also read: Maharashtra polls: In a BJP vs Congress, Sena vs Sena, NCP vs NCP contest, NDA comes out on top )
His victory in Brahmapuri in the 2014 assembly elections marked the Congress party's return after more than twenty years. Since then, he has ensured the party's continued presence in Vidarbha, gaining support in Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Bhandara, and Gondiya districts, while contributing to Congress’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, Wadettiwar polled 96,726 votes, accounting for 50 percent of the total votes cast, defeating Shiv Sena’s Sandip Wamanrao Gaddamwar, who received 78,177 votes (40.41 percent).
(Also read: Maharashtra election result LIVE: NDA set for landslide, Shinde's Sena outdoes entire MVA )
Similarly, in 2014, Wadettiwar defeated BJP’s Atul Devidas Deshkar by 13,610 votes, polling 36.67 percent of the votes compared to Deshkar’s 29.58 percent. As a senior OBC leader from eastern Vidarbha, he has been actively involved in initiatives to uplift OBC, ST, and SC communities. During his tenure as Maharashtra’s Minister for OBC Welfare, he launched youth skill development programs, pilot training in Nagpur, and higher education facilities with UPSC and MPSC coaching centres.
As Leader of Opposition, Wadettiwar has focused on holding the government accountable. He has consistently addressed key issues like agrarian distress and unemployment, gaining significant support across Vidarbha. Wadettiwar’s journey from grassroots politics to a prominent role in the Congress reflects his deep focus on Vidarbha and the OBC community. His strong support base among the OBC population has bolstered his standing in Maharashtra’s political landscape, where he remains committed to driving progress in Vidarbha.
