MUMBAI: Union minister Nitin Gadkari, the BJP’s choice for the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat, is set to face a tough fight owing to several factors, including anti-incumbency and a strong Congress candidate Vikas Thakre as his rival. Besides, this time, the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has pledged its support to Congress candidates in the seat. Thakre, a local MLA, has been the party’s city president for over 20 years. Nagpur, along with three other Lok Sabha constituencies, will go to the polls on April 19.Gadkari, the BJP stalwart, won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by 26.2% vote margin. He bagged a 54% vote share against Congress’s Vilas Muttemwar with 27.9%. However, in the 2019 general elections, Gadkari’s winning margin reduced to 18.3%. Assembly-wise, while Gadkari bagged 55.9% vote share, Congress’s Nana Patole got 37.6%. The BJP veteran got a significant lead in five segments, while Patole got a marginal lead in the Nagpur North SC reserved seat.A famous face in Nagpur, Gadkari has, in the past ten years, turned the Congress bastion into his home turf. Interestingly, he is more popular than the BJP as a party.Despite belonging to a Brahmin community, his inclusive nature and liberal politics earned him loyalists from all castes. Besides, he also developed Nagpur city by increasing the connectivity by all modes of transport.
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