The Indian National Congress finally opened its account in the MLC elections 2026, with Abhijit Wanjari winning after defeating BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale in the Nagpur Division Graduates’ Constituency.
This was the second consecutive time Abhijit Wanjari won the same seat. He had previously won the constituency in 2020 by defeating BJP candidate Sandip Joshi and successfully retained it in 2026.
MLC stands for Member of the Legislative Council. Counting took place across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka for a total of 28 seats.
Who is Abhijit Wanjari?
Abhijit Wanjari was born on May 10, 1973, in Nagpur, Maharashtra. He is from a politically active family that has been associated with the Congress party for years.
His father, late Govindrao Marotrao Wanjari, was a Congress leader, an MLA, and represented the South Nagpur Assembly constituency.
Apart from his political role, his father was involved in educational and social activities through Amar Seva Mandal, an organisation which set up educational institutions in the Nagpur area.
Here are some of the key details of Abhijit Wanjari.
Related Stories
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Detail
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Information
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Full Name
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Abhijit Govindrao Wanjari
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Political Party
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Indian National Congress (INC)
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Constituency
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Nagpur Division Graduates’ Constituency
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State
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Maharashtra
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Education
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LLB from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Law in Nagpur
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2026 Votes
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67,231
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Main Opponent
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Sudhakar Kohale (BJP)
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Victory Margin
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3,271 votes
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Position
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Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC)
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Nagpur MLC Election 2026: Counting Details
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Counting started at 8 am on October 27 at the Mankapur Indoor Stadium in Nagpur.
Sudhakar Kohale, who was a BJP candidate, got 60,924 first preference votes and Abhijit Wanjari of Congress Party secured 56,630 first preference votes.
After the second round of counting on Wednesday, Kohale got 4,294 more votes than Wanjari.
As there was no candidate getting the quota of votes from first preference voting, further counting was done based on preferential voting system.
Eventually, Abhijit Wanjari defeated Kohale and won the seat with 67,231 votes against Kohale’s 63,960
Nagpur MLC Election 2026: Results
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Candidate
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Party
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Votes
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Result
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Abhijit Wanjari
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Indian National Congress
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67,231
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Winner
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Sudhakar Kohale
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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
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63,960
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Runner-up
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Nitesh Karale
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Independent
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24,249
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—
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Winning Margin: 3271 votes
Abhijit Wanjari's Political Career: Key Positions and Electoral Wins
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1998–2002: General Secretary, Maharashtra NSUI.
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2002–2005: Secretary, Maharashtra Youth Congress.
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2005–2008: Vice-President, Youth and Sports Cell, MPCC.
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2005: Contested the South Nagpur by-election.
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2014: Contested from Nagpur East in the Assembly election.
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2020: Won the Nagpur Graduates’ Constituency MLC election.
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March 2022: Appointed Chief Whip of the Congress Legislative Council party.
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2022: MPCC General Secretary and Gondia district in-charge.
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2026: Retained the Nagpur Graduates’ Constituency, defeating BJP’s Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes.
Abhijit Wanjari's Political Career before 2026 MLC Elections
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MLC Election (2020): Won the Nagpur Graduates’ Constituency with 61,701 votes as a Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate, defeating BJP’s Sandeep Joshi by 18,910 votes.
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Assembly Election (2014): Contested from Nagpur East and received 50,524 votes.
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Assembly By-election (2005): Contested from Nagpur South and received 19,153 votes.
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Municipal Corporation Elections: A Congress candidate received 3,751 votes.
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Youth and Sports Department: Served as Vice-President of the Youth and Sports Department of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC).
Source: abhijitwanjari.com