Nitin Gadkari banks on track record in Nagpur battle, Congress bets on bread-and-butter issues

A former Congress stronghold and the seat of the RSS headquarters, the BJP has coasted to victory in Nagpur in the last two Lok Sabha polls with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari winning both times. But with its vote share having gone up 10 percentage points in 2019, people in the city talking about local issues such as unemployment and civic amenities, and given the caste dynamics, the Congress believes it is in with a chance this time around.

A national leader, Gadkari is regularly cited as one of the best-performing Union Ministers and is seeking votes based on the development work done by the Narendra Modi government and his track record in the last two terms. “There is no doubt about victory but we should strive for 75% vote share for the BJP in Nagpur,” a confident Gadkari says at a gathering in Nagpur, where his supporters say they will help him win by more than five lakh votes this time. Nagpur is among five of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha constituencies that vote in the first phase on April 19.

Gadkari won in 2014 by 2.16 lakh votes and increased both his vote share and victory margin five years later (the Congress’s vote share also jumped in 2019). This time, he is campaigning round the clock, addressing rallies in every corner of the city.

Echoing the Union Minister, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule says, “Gadkari ji will poll more than 65% of the total polls. We are confident our victory margin will increase. His work in infrastructure development is his success.” BJP insiders say Gadkari, a former BJP national president, played an important role along with current Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also from Nagpur, in consolidating the BJP’s presence in the larger Vidarbha region.

But the