‘N for Nagpur & Nitin Gadkari’: ‘Roadkari’ On Way to A Hat-trick in This Maharashtra Constituency? – News18

At Ramji Shyamji Poha corner in Nagpur, youngsters from neighbouring Chandrapur are jostling for their plate of Nagpur’s famous tari wala poha. As the Metro zooms on the line above, the awed Chandrapur residents tell their Nagpuri friends: “Nagpur has changed so much. We also need a Gadkari.”

It is a refrain you hear everywhere you go in the ‘Orange City’. Once a Congress bastion, Nagpur turned saffron in 2014, when Nitin Gadkari snatched the seat from the grand old party. He defeated seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar by a margin of 2.84 lakh votes. Five years later, his vote margin came down by about 50,000, but Gadkari retained the seat and defeated current state Congress chief Nana Patole. In 2024, Gadkari aims to hit a hat-trick with a win margin of five lakh votes. His sale mantra — the all-around development of Nagpur in the last decade. Nagpur will vote in phase one on April 19.

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“We call him ‘Roadkari’. When he was with the Maharashtra government, he changed the face of the state. As road and highways minister in the Centre, he has changed the way India travels. I recently went to Ladakh and there also people were praising the all-weather tunnel that he has built. People look at you with admiration if you say that you are from Nagpur. N is for Nagpur, N is for Nitin ji Gadkari,” Jinendra Vithlani, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker told News18 at the Hedgewar Square.

A few kilometers away at Upmawala Poha stall, Anurag Deshmukh, a marketing professional, echoes similar sentiments. “Gadkari brought AIIMS here. We are told Narsee Monjee Mangement Institute is also coming here. Metro and roads have changed the face of Nagpur. But we hope in the third term he will focus on employment opportunities,” he said.

Pradeep Chauhan, too, is worried about job opportunities in his city. “I will press NOTA. All mills have shut down here. Where will our youngsters go?”

Nagpur has six assembly constituencies and is mostly urban in nature. Gadkari’s road shows through lanes and by-lanes attract people from all walks of life. Women line up for tilak and aarti. Men throw garlands and bouquets at his “rath,” while young voters on scooties race to keep pace with the convoy. Gadkari tells News18 after a 10-5 road show, “It is hot in Nagpur, but the response from the crowd energises me. Irrespective of caste, creed, religion…people are coming out to support me,” he says.

CASTE CONSOLIDATION

The Congress has fielded local MLA Vikas Thakrey against Gadkari. The Union minister calls Thakrey his friend and the campaigns of both the leaders are not acrimonious. While Team Gadkari is focusing on his ‘Vikas Purush’ image and Modi’s charisma, the Congress is looking at caste dynamics and local issues. There are around eight lakh Dalit and Muslims voters in this constituency of 22 lakh voters. Another four lakh come from Halba, Kunbi and Teli groups. The Congress hopes to consolidate this 12-lakh-strong group in its favour. “The Halbas are adivasis, but are not recognised as Schedule Tribes, denied reservation benefits and caste certificates. The BJP is ruling both the Centre and state and yet they have not fulfilled their promise of solving this issue,” Chandrakant Parate, a former bureaucrat from Halba community told News18.

At the Diksha Bhoomi, where Dr Babasaheb Ambdekar accepted Buddhism, property dealer Suren Madhukar Mode is clear about his choice. “Roads is the only developed thing in Nagpur. Life of ordinary people has not changed. Sabka saath, sabka vikas is on paper,” he said.

Dinesh Tayde, a photographer, questioned the impact of the recent political changes in the state. “So many netas are leaving their party and joining the BJP. Parties are being split down the middle. Where is the ideology? We don’t like this,” he said.

It is this section that the Congress is trying to woo. Thakrey, a local, is hoping that caste dynamics along with his local connect will be enough for him to pose a challenge to Gadkari.