Wanjari retains Nagpur Council seat for Congress

Congress incumbent Abhijeet Wanjari retained Nagpur’s Legislative Council graduates seat, defeating BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes after counting extended into Thursday’s early hours. Wanjari received 67,231 votes to Kohale’s 63,960, according to the final result reported by election officials. The contest was decided through preference-based counting after neither candidate reached the required quota on first-preference votes. Kohale led after the second round, with 60,924 first-preference votes to Wanjari’s 56,630. Counting then continued through elimination rounds, in which voters’ subsequent preferences were considered. The tallying began Tuesday morning and lasted more than 40 hours, according to reports of the counting process. Independent candidate Nitesh Karale had 24,249 votes after the second round, when the quota was not met. Wanjari’s win gives Congress a second consecutive victory in the Nagpur Division Graduates constituency. He had defeated BJP candidate Sandip Joshi in the previous election. Kohale, a former legislator, was seeking to win the seat back for the BJP. The result drew attention because Nagpur is the hometown of Maharashtra Chief...