Kartik Lokhande's blog

* BJP had bagged Umred seat for the first time in 2009 after it got reserved for Scheduled Caste post-delimitation By Kartik Lokhande Umred, a Congress-dominated constituency since 1962, witnessed a major change in Legislative Assembly election held in 2009. For the first time since 1962, Umred elected a candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena alliance. However, this time, the constituency is set to witness multi-cornered contest as all major parties including BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are contesting separately. Against this backdrop, BJP’s sitting MLA Sudhir Parwe is facing a challenge of continuing with the winning streak of his party. Of a total 11 Legislative Assembly elections held so far, Congress candidate won nine times. Of the remaining two elections, held in 1999 and 2009, an Independent candidate Vasantrao Itkelwar and BJP candidate Sudhir Parwe emerged winner respectively. As had been the case across the state...

Elected representatives seek aid for affected farmers * MLAs Sudhir Parwe and Vijay Ghodmare, ZP chief Sandhya Gotmare demand ‘wet drought’ to be declared in Nagpur district Staff Reporter The team sent by Central Government, on Wednesday, started its two-day visit to rain-hit parts of Vidarbha region. On the first day, one of the four teams visited affected villages in Bhiwapur, Umred, and Hingna tehsils of Nagpur district. During its visit, the team interacted with affected farmers, elected representatives, and also took stock of damage caused by excessive and high-intensity rainfall. Rain fury had wreaked havoc in Nagpur district in the months of June and July. Apart from causing widespread damage to property, the rains had shattered farmers’ hopes of a good crop. Soyabean, cotton, chilli were the hardest-hit crops. At many places, fertile layer of soil was washed away. The situation was the same across Vidarbha region. Taking cognisance of this, Maharashtra Government sought ...