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In a strategic attempt to connect with the Dalit community in Maharashtra ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2023, the Congress has nominated Chandrakant Handore, a prominent Dalit leader and party’s Maharashtra working president, for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
While Chandrakant Handore’s nomination has come as a boost for the Maharashtra Congress as party leaders were hopeful that the central leadership would field a party worker from the state, the move is intended to atone for Chandrakant Handore’s defeat in the June 2022 assembly elections. Also points towards the efforts of Congress. Council elections despite the party having numbers.
Former Mumbai mayor, Chandrakant Handor had lost the Legislative Council elections in 2022, while the Congress had said that the party can easily secure his election as it has the numbers. It is alleged that Chandrakant Handore lost due to cross voting. With the Congress having enough numbers to elect only one leader in the assembly, the party fielded two, splitting the votes.
While Chandrakant Handore was obviously the first choice for the Legislative Council, Bhai Jagtap won the election. Chandrakant Handore had then alleged cross voting during the Legislative Council elections.
“I was officially the party candidate and the MPCC had given me a quota of 29 votes. Since we have 44 MLAs and the remaining votes would have been wasted, the party decided to make Bhai Jagtap the second candidate. We were hopeful that Jagtap will get the remaining votes from allies. I did my math and found that two of our MLAs cross-voted and Jagtap got five votes for me,” he told The Indian Express.
Although he did not blame the Congress leadership, he accused some of his colleagues of “stabbing him in the back”. “People are angry. I was a Dalit face. I was a cabinet minister from 2004 to 2009 and I did a lot for Dalits. Their sympathies are with me. This could have helped the party in the civic polls. Some people have criticized me. Has attacked.” Back,” he said.
Chandrakant Handore, who has risen through the ranks, was a minister in the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government. Handore’s candidature is a boost for Maharashtra Congress as party leaders and workers were expecting the central leadership to nominate a party worker from the state.
In the last Rajya Sabha elections held in 2022, Congress had fielded Imran Pratapgarhi from Maharashtra. A total of 56 Rajya Sabha members from 15 states are retiring in April and elections for the seats will be held on February 27. The last date for filing nomination is 15 February.
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Published: Feb 14, 2024, 06:17 PM IST
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