Congress Resurgence in Vidarbha: Retains Key Seats Amid BJP Challenges

The Congress retained three out of four assembly seats in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, a BJP stronghold. Victories included Nagpur West with Vikas Thakre, Umred with Sanjay Meshram, and a strong lead in Nagpur North by Nitin Raut. This success underscores Congress' strategic comeback in regional politics.

In a significant political development, the Congress has successfully retained three of the four assembly seats it previously held in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This region includes assembly seats that are considered prime political turf for BJP leaders like Devendra Fadnavis and Nitin Gadkari.

The most notable victories for the Congress came in Nagpur West and Umred. In Nagpur West, sitting MLA and Congress representative Vikas Thakre triumphed over BJP's Sudhakar Kohale with a narrow margin of 5,824 votes. Meanwhile, in Umred, Congress' Sanjay Meshram, an IIT alumnus, secured a decisive victory against BJP's Sudhir Parwe by 12,825 votes. Parwe had held this seat during the 2014 and 2009 elections.

Nagpur North also saw a strong potential win for Congress as sitting MLA and former state minister Nitin Raut was leading by more than 30,000 votes after the majority of votes were counted. This election outcome is seen as a strategic resurgence for Congress in a region traditionally dominated by the BJP.

(With inputs from agencies.)