Amravati, situated in Maharashtra, emerges as a significant battleground in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with Navneet Rana, known for her fiery oratory, stepping into the fray.
The voting date for the Amravati Lok Sabha constituency is set for April 26, marking Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha polling. It comprises six assembly seats of Badnera, Amravati, Teosa, Daryapur (reserved for Scheduled Caste), Melghat (reserved for Scheduled Tribe), and Achalpur.
Rana, an Independent incumbent Member of Parliament from Amravati, recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is contesting on its ticket.
The electoral contest narrows down to a direct face-off between Rana and Balwant Baswant Wankhede, candidate from the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition and a leader of the Congress party.
In addition, several regional small parties such as the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, Republican Sena, and Prahar Janshakti Party add complexity to the electoral landscape by making it a multi-cornered fight.
Rana's victory in the Amravati seat in 2019 as an Independent, supported by various opposition parties, underscores her political clout.
Notably, BR Ambedkar's grandson and Republican Sena leader, Anandraj Ambedkar, also threw his hat into the ring for the Amravati Lok Sabha constituency. He is supported by the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, shaping the contest into a triangular one.
In a significant political move, Navneet Rana, MLA Ravi Rana’s wife, officially joined the BJP in Nagpur. Her political journey includes a stint as a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate in 2014, followed by an Independent victory in 2019, supported by the NCP, against the Shiv Sena's Anandrao Adsul.
A crucial relief for Rana arrived with the Supreme Court's decision to restore her scheduled caste certificate, allowing her to contest the Maharashtra seat reserved for Dalits on a BJP ticket.
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