The Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha constituency in Vidarbha will most likely witness a down-to-the-wire contest between Nana Panchbudhe (NCP) and Sunil Mendhe (BJP) in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

This is apparently due to two reasons: first, then sitting MP Nana Patole crossing over to the Congress from the BJP and secondly, the BJP’s subsequent loss in the by-poll to NCP’s Madhukar Kukde, who was supported by the Congress, last year. However, while NCP’s victory in the by-poll appeared to indicate a change in mood among voters,the entry of Vijaya Nandurkar, of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Nagoji Nanhe of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) could change things again.

Bhandara-Gondia will go to vote on Thursday, the first phase of polling. In 2014, Patole (then in BJP) defeated NCP stalwart Praful Patel by a margin of 1.50 lakh votes. However, Patole became a vehement and vocal critic of PM Narendra Modi and is now contesting against another BJP bigwig Nitin Gadkari on his home turf of Nagpur. Patel is now a Rajya Sabha member and the NCP has picked Panchbudhe over Kukde. On the other hand, the BJP is placing their trust on Bhandara municipality president Mendhe, a young BJP leader. Both Panchbudhe and Mendhe are known to keep low profiles.

Mendhe had focused on electricity, water and roads in the area during his tenure at the municipality and yet his candidature took voters by surprise. The BJP and Sena workers expressed dismay at Mendhe’s selection and whether he could handle the pressure required to play in a larger battlefield.

Even Panchbudhe’s selection drew sharp reactions from a section of party workers. Experts feel that had Patel or his wife, Varshaben, contested from the seat, the BJP would have faced an uphill task.

The constituency dealt a stunning blow to the ruling combine of BJP-Shiv Sena in last year’s by-election that was necessitated after Patole quit the party and Lok Sabha membership. Kukde defeated BJP nominee Hemant Patle by a margin of around 50,000 votes. The NCP also has no justification to pick Panchbudhe over Kukde. The NCP nominee is not much popular, both among voters as well as party workers, political observers feel.

However, although both Mendhe and Panchbudhe are “weak” candidates, both belong to the powerful “Kunbi” community (similar to Marathas in western Maharashtra).

Modi’s public meet in Gondia, which drew large crowds, charged up BJP and Sena workers. It remains to be seen whether it translates into more votes for Mendhe.

Naresh Meshram of Tiroda said BJP’s fortunes were linked to party rebel Rajendra Patle. Powars (another powerful community of the region), who are traditionally BJP supporters, are angry that candidates from their community were not considered this time for the ticket.

The contest has the potential to spring a surprise owing to the fact that there is no Patole this time to rally around. Both Nandurkar and Nanhe (Vanchit Vahujan Aghadi) may play spoilsport for NCP. In the May 2018 by-election, Prakash Ambedkar’s party got over 40,000 votes.

Nandurkar’s public meetings are also attracting good crowds. “Nandurkar will get traditional BSP votes, but if she gets extra votes then it will be at the cost of NCP,” said a source.

However, Ganesh Chaudhari, who is handling NCP’s campaign office, claimed that Panchbudhe would win by a margin of over a lakh. “Mendhe has done no work in Bhandara. About 75% votes from the town will go to us. If Mendhe can’t develop his own area, who will vote for him? Besides, there is tremendous anger against the Modi government as it has not fulfilled any of its poll promises,” he said.

Bhandara-Gondia has been a BJP stronghold. The BJP controls five Assembly constituencies — Morgaon-Arjuni, Tumsar, Sakoli, Tiroda and Bhandara — while Congress holds Gondia.

First Published: Apr 11, 2019 04:42 IST