Nagpur: Probably one of the biggest twists and turns of the poll season is unravelling in the Nagpur Central assembly constituency, where veteran Congress leader and former cabinet minister Anees Ahmed sprang a surprise by announcing his candidacy on Sunday. Bunty Shelke, runner-up of the 2019 assembly elections, is the official nominee of the Congress from the seat.
A three-time Congress MLA and staunch Gandhi family loyalist, Ahmed said he sent his resignation to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, alleging a lack of social engineering by state leadership in ticket distribution. Though undecided on his new party, Ahmed flew to Mumbai on Sunday night to meet Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar.
Earlier, Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ethadul Muslemeen (AIMIM) had also offered Ahmed a ticket to fight the polls anywhere in the state. Rejecting the offer, Ahmed said he would never quit Congress. "There was no response from the party even after denying me a ticket. When the entire community wants representation and is backing me, then I reconsidered my decision," he said.
Ahmed told TOI that he would be filing his nomination papers on Tuesday. "I didn't seek to contest the election, but all imams from Nagpur Central wanted to field me in the election," he said. Ahmed's decision is likely to dent Congress votes in Nagpur West, North, South, and also in Kamptee, where the electorate comprises a sizeable Muslim population.
The Nagpur Central seat is dominated by the Halba community and also has a large number of Muslim voters. AIMIM is also planning to field a candidate. Ramesh Poonekar from the Halba community is planning to contest as an independent from here after the Congress refused to give him a ticket. Initially, Congress observer Arif Nasim Khan had assured the party's minority cell of giving at least two tickets in Nagpur district to Muslim candidates.
In case Ahmed and other rebels stay firm on their decision, the seat is likely to witness multi-cornered, and one of the most keenly contested fights. A similar dilemma and rebellion awaits the BJP too, where multiple candidates are staking claim to the seat and are prepared to fight as independents.
Atul Londhe, state Congress spokesperson, said the Muslim community will stand by the cause and not by an individual. "Anees Ahmed is a senior leader of Congress. He was a cabinet minister, he contested five times. The party has given him all possible respect. This is not a battle of ideology. Sufficient representation has been given to Muslims in Maharashtra," he said.