23-03-14
LS Constituency Profile -- Ramtek
By Kartik Lokhande
Of
a total 14 Lok Sabha elections it saw till 2009, Ramtek constituency
has elected Congress candidate 12 times. The only two times when the
constituency chose another candidate -- that is, of Shiv Sena -- was in
1999 and 2004. Come 2014, and once again there is a contest between
Congress’ heavyweight Mukul Wasnik and Shiv Sena candidate Krupal
Tumane.
Ramtek constituency of Lok Sabha came into being in 1957 elections. In
the very first election, as happened in most of the constituencies in
the country, Ramtek elected Congress candidate Krishnarao G Deshmukh.
Since then, Congress candidates got elected from this constituency till
1998. In 1999, for the first time, Shiv Sena wrested this constituency
from Congress. Shiv Sena candidate Subodh Mohite got elected and went on
to become Union Heavy Industries Minister in BJP-led National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government. He got elected the in the next
election also, in 2004, on Shiv Sena’s ticket again and with increased
vote-share.
The constituency elected four candidates twice in succession namely A G
Sonar (Congress) in 1967 and 1971, Jatiram Barve (Congress) in 1977 and
1980, and P V Narasimha Rao (Congress) in 1984, 1989. Of these, Congress
heavyweight P V Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister also when he got
elected from another constituency in 1991. Peasants and Workers Party
(PWP), Republican Party of India (RPI), Forward Bloc (FB), Janata Dal
(JD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other parties also tried their
luck but were unsuccessful in different elections, in wresting the seat
from Congress. Before leaving Ramtek seat for ally Shiv Sena to contest,
BJP had fielded Pandurang Hazare against Tejsinghrao Bhonsle in 1991
polls. In the previous election, Hazare had polled good votes against
Congress bigwig P V Narasimha Rao.
If one takes a look at the previous election of Lok Sabha held in 2009,
Congress had fielded its heavyweight Mukul Wasnik when the constituency
got reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) after delimitation. The
reservation of the constituency left Shiv Sena in a fix as it had no
candidate to field. As an immediate arrangement, it convinced Congress
worker Krupal Tumane to join Shiv Sena and fielded him. Initially, it
was taken as a fight between a seasoned politician in Wasnik and a
novice in Lok Sabha polls Krupal Tumane. However, Tumane worked his way
hard and proved to be a tough competitor to Wasnik. As the results
showed, Wasnik won from Ramtek but with a margin of only 16,701 votes.
This was the narrowest winning margin in all 10 Lok Sabha constituencies
in Vidarbha in 2009.
Soon after getting elected, Wasnik made it a point to visit the
constituency every week-end. However, with his elevation as Union
Minister of Social Justice as also powerful position within Congress
organisation, Wasnik found it tough to devote time to his constituency
gradually. The last year, he quit as Union Minister and preferred to
work for Congress organisation. Again, this General Secretary of All
India Congress Committee (AICC) got engaged with responsibilities of
some Southern states to strengthen the party organisation there. On one
hand, Wasnik found it increasingly difficult to devote time to Ramtek.
On the other, Tumane took time to recover from defeat but started
building rapport with voters especially in the past three years. He made
it a point to attend various funtions and touring the areas that were
affected by untimely rains etc. As he had lost by a narrow margin, Shiv
Sena decided to field him again this time. Congress, too, has decided to
field its sitting MP.
Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency comprises six rural segments of
Legislative Assembly. Currently, three of these are with BJP, one with
Shiv Sena, and one each with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP). Going by this, one can say that BJP-Sena alliance has an upper
hand. However, in Ramtek and Hingna, Shiv Sena candidate and BJP
candidate Vijay Ghodmare won by narrow margins. Jaiswal defeated
Congress’ Subodh Mohite by little over 3,000 votes and Ghodmare defeated
Ramesh Bang of NCP by only 700 votes. Thus, though situation appears to
be good for Tumane, these two Assembly segments may not turn up in his
favour to the extent he desires. Meanwhile, the recent development of
resignations of all Directors of beleaguered Nagpur District Central
Co-operative Bank (NDCCB) have irked Congress MLA Sunil Kedar, who
represents Saoner segment. Whether he will show his displeasure in Lok
Sabha election, will decide Wasnik’s lead in Saoner segment.
In summary, Wasnik’s reputation and Tumane’s preparation both are at
stake this time. As it will be a fight for prestige of its bigwig,
Congress is likely to throw in more attention and weight behind Wasnik.
It remains to be seen if Shiv Sena, and more importantly its ally BJP,
work with equal strength for Tumane.
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