Nandurbar Lok Sabha Elections: Few Bumps on the Street, However It is Benefit BJP

The Nandurbar (ST) Lok Sabha constituency is one in all 48 parliamentary constituencies in Maharashtra. This seat is reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Tribes and contains a part of Dhule district and the complete Nandurbar district. Seven Meeting segments fall beneath the Nandurbar (ST) Lok Sabha constituency. Of those, the BJP at the moment holds three (Shahada-ST, Nandurbar-ST and Shirpur-ST), whereas the Congress holds two (Akkalkuwa-ST and Nawapur-ST). The Sakri-ST seat is held by an Impartial.

Polling Date – Could 13, 2024

Sitting MP – Dr Heena Vijaykumar Gavit (BJP)

Candidates – Dr Heena Vijaykumar Gavit (BJP), Gowaal Okay Padavi (Congress)

Political Dynamics

• Overview: Geographically, Nandurbar is a vital district that sits at a tri-state border. Comprising a part of the Satpura mountain ranges and Narmada River belt, Nandurbar in North Maharashtra additionally touches Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. It’s one in all Maharashtra’s poorest districts.
• Traditionally, Nandurbar was a Congress citadel for the reason that first normal elections in 1952 however the BJP breached the bastion in the course of the Narendra Modi wave of 2014. Retaining the seat in 2019, the BJP has made deep inroads in Nandurbar in addition to different North Maharashtra constituencies.
• Sources say the tribal inhabitants’s anger over the Manipur violence, apprehension over the Uniform Civil Code and the Congress allegations that the BJP is trying to rewrite the Structure could dent the saffron celebration’s vote share in Nandurbar, however the reputation of sitting MP and BJP candidate Dr Heena Gavit might even see the celebration by means of, albeit by a narrower margin.
• BJP: Gearing as much as lengthen its victory run within the former Congress den, the BJP has fielded sitting MP Dr Heena Gavit for the third straight time period.
• A medical graduate, Heena Gavit had ended the Congress’s 64-year dominance in Nandurbar together with her first-ever Lok Sabha election in 2014. Her win had saved nine-term Congress MP Manikrao Gavit from clinching a file tenth time period and had successfully ended his political profession.
• In 2019, she had defeated Congress challenger KC Padavi by over 95,000 votes to retain the seat. Within the 2024 elections, she has been challenged by Padavi’s son Gowaal Okay Padavi who’s combating on a Congress ticket.
• Heena is the daughter of former NCP minister Vijaykumar Gavit, who was sacked by the celebration earlier than the 2014 elections after she joined the BJP and received a ticket from the Nandurbar seat.
• The main focus of Heena Gavit’s marketing campaign this time has been on girls empowerment and the event of medical sector within the tribal belt.
• Within the final 10 years, Dr Gavit is claimed to have constructed a robust picture for herself among the many voters.
• Whereas the constituency continues to endure from points like malnutrition, sickle cell anaemia and poor maternal well being, the final 10 years are stated to have been some enchancment within the well being infrastructure.
• Objections to Nomination: Regardless of rising as a giantkiller for the BJP in 2014, the help to Gavit’s nomination this time was not absolute with a bit of native BJP unit demanding a change of candidate.
• Sources say that some native BJP leaders had been lobbying for the ticket and their supporters objected to Gavit getting the nomination. A piece of the BJP unit has additionally complained of being sidelined within the seat.
• Sources added that some native leaders concern being completely dwarfed by Gavit if she luggage a hat-trick this time.
• Cross-Campaigning by Shiv Sena (Shinde): Other than native BJP models, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena too objected to repeating the sitting MP thought it had no qualms with the seat going to the saffron celebration kitty within the Mahayuti seat-sharing.
• Shiv Sena (Shinde) leaders have complained that Gavit has been reasonably chilly to the alliance companions within the constituency.
• Furthermore, the truce between the Shinde camp and BJP for seat-sharing variations didn’t absorb Nandurbar because it did in different areas of Maharashtra.
• Sources even say some native BJP leaders intentionally didn’t work in the direction of a rapprochement in a calculated transfer to checkmate Heena Gavit’s rise.
• As per floor studies, important sections of the Shiv Sena (Shinde) native models are brazenly campaigning for the Congress nominee as an alternative.
• Congress: The grand previous celebration loved absolute electoral domination within the constituency for 64 years from 1952 until 2014.
• Former Union Minister of State for House, Manikrao Gavit, had represented Nandurbar within the Lok Sabha for 9 consecutive phrases between 1981 and 2014.
• The grand previous celebration misplaced its fortress to BJP’s Heena Gavit within the 2014 elections amid the Modi wave. The defeat ended Manikrao Gavit’s three-decade dominance within the constituency as he misplaced to Heena by round 1,06,000 votes.
• This time, the Congress shall be lacking Manikrao Gavit’s experience within the area for the reason that nine-time MP handed away in 2022.
• Quest to Regain Bastion: Given its shut affiliation with Nandurbar, the Congress cornered the seat for itself throughout seat-sharing talks with MVA companions Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP.
• In its quest to regain the misplaced bastion, the grand previous celebration has given the ticket to 32-year-old Bombay Excessive Courtroom advocate Gowaal Okay Padavi.
• The Nandurbar election is as a lot a private mission for Padavi as a political one as sitting MP and BJP candidate Heena Gavit had defeated his father KC Padavi within the 2019 elections by 95,629 votes.
• Whereas Akkalkuwa MLA KC Padavi too was within the working for the ticket, the Congress performed it protected along with his son amid cash-for-jobs allegations towards Padavi Sr.
• One of many main disadvantages for Gowaal Padavi on this election is his low recall worth amongst voters in comparison with two-time MP Heena Gavit. That is additionally his first election.
• Gowaal had reportedly caught the eye of Rahul Gandhi in the course of the latter’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra earlier this yr.
• Nehru-Gandhi Affiliation: Nandurbar district is understood for its reference to the Nehru-Gandhi household. Within the earlier elections, household stalwarts like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi had most well-liked to launch their election campaigns from Nandurbar.
• After becoming a member of lively politics, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had addressed a rally in Nandurbar for the primary time whereas launching the UPA authorities’s flagship Aadhaar scheme from the district.
• Throughout a go to to the tribal-dominated Nandurbar district throughout his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in March, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi stated his celebration’s authorities would perform a caste census and an financial and monetary survey, and likewise strengthen the Forest Rights Act.
• He additionally promised to introduce a laws to supply assured Minimal Help Worth (MSP) for farm and forest produce.
• Neighborhood Elements: Each BJP and Congress candidates are Bhils and as such the group votes are more likely to be cut up between the 2.
• In a blow to the BJP, nonetheless, round 2.5 lakh tribals who’re Christian converts could not facet with the celebration over alleged RSS marketing campaign to get them delisted, depriving them of quota advantages.
• Considerations Over Structure Controversy: The Congress allegations that the BJP is angling to vary the Structure and finish reservations if it wins a 3rd time period on the Centre has discovered takers within the tribal-dominated Nandurbar constituency.
• Of the 18 lakh voters in Nandurbar, round 65% are from the Scheduled Tribes and concern shedding the reservation supplied to STs.
• Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has been alleging that the BJP will “tear up and throw away” the Structure if it retains energy. Another Congress functionaries had expressed apprehensions that the BJP could drop the phrase “secularism” from the Preamble of the Structure.
• The Congress has additionally requested the BJP leaders to clear the celebration’s stance on whether or not it will take away the 50% on reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and the Different Backward Courses.
• Prime BJP leaders have maintained throughout campaigning throughout India that the celebration has no intention of adjusting the Preamble or finish reservations.
• It has accused the Congress of making “concern psychosis” and resorting to spreading misinformation for “vote financial institution” politics.
• Manipur Incident Impression: Sources say the tribal group in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar can be offended on the BJP over the horrific episode in Manipur in Could final yr when two girls from the Kuki-Zomi group had been stripped bare and paraded earlier than being sexually assaulted in the course of the ethnic violence within the north-eastern state.
• Uniform Civil Code: The concern of shedding particular safety if included beneath the proposed central UCC can be a serious election consider Nandurbar.
• After the abrogation of Article 370 in J&Okay and the development of a Ram Mandir on the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, a central UCC is the one remaining promise among the many BJP’s holy trinity of election guarantees. BJP-ruled Uttarakhand has already enacted its personal Uniform Civil Code and hypothesis is rife that the saffron celebration could comply with go well with in different states or on the Centre in its third time period.
• Whereas the Uttarakhand UCC had saved tribal communities of its ambit amid a lot political controversy, tribal teams in states like Jharkhand, Maharashtra and different states are cautious on the prospect of a central UCC.
• With the Regulation Fee’s session on the UCC happening, some tribal teams have demanded that they be saved out of the statute whereas opposition events have accused the ruling BJP of taking over the difficulty as a ballot gimmick.
• Benefit BJP Nonetheless: Regardless of the general public sentiment over the above three points, sources say the BJP is forward within the race in the mean time primarily because of the constructive picture Dr Heena Gavit has constructed for herself within the constituency over the past decade.
• Political observers, nonetheless, say her victory margin this time could also be narrower.
• Sport-Altering Visits: The constituency has been wanting ahead to 2 high-profile visits that may very well be game-changer for the respective candidates — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress normal secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
• The anticipation of Priyanka Gandhi’s go to is owing to her standing because the daughter of the Nehru-Gandhi household. Sources say the primary household of the Congress nonetheless enjoys affection and curiosity among the many tribal communities of Nandurbar.
• Prime Minister Modi’s go to, in the meantime, is tipped to iron out variations inside the BJP and the Mahayuti alliance within the constituency, which might be an enormous enhance to Dr Gavit’s marketing campaign.
• Greater than his authorities’s tribal outreach and schemes, it’s the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana that has elevated his reputation in Nandurbar.
• VBA a Non-Issue: Not like different seats in Maharashtra, Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) is a non-factor in Nandurbar.
• In actual fact, its candidate Hanumant M Suryawanshi had even tried to withdraw his nomination however the identical was rejected since he had not submitted it on VBA letterhead.

Key Constituency Points

• Malnutrition: That is stated to be the most important and decades-long drawback in Nandurbar. In 2006, a bunch of public curiosity litigations had been filed highlighting the excessive variety of deaths of kids, pregnant girls and lactating moms as a consequence of malnutrition right here.
• In 2022, throughout a listening to on the petitions, the Bombay Excessive Courtroom was knowledgeable that since January 2022 round 400 individuals, together with 86 kids, had died in Nandurbar as a consequence of malnutrition and insufficient medical services.
• In response to a 2019-2021 Nationwide Household Well being Survey, 57.2% of kids beneath 5 in Nandurbar are underweight, which is the second-highest proportion within the nation.
• As of June-July 2022, 15% of kids beneath six in Nandurbar had been recognized as malnourished, which is a big improve from the earlier survey in Could, when solely 7% had been recognized.
• Nandurbar has additionally constantly languished on the backside of Maharashtra’s Human Growth Index.
• Sickle Cell Anaemia: Nandurbar has the best variety of sickle cell anaemia (SCA) sufferers within the state, with 3,842 of the state’s 18,000 registered sufferers.
• SCA is a hereditary dysfunction that happens when an individual inherits two irregular copies of haemoglobin from every mum or dad, inflicting pink blood cells to turn into sickle-shaped as a consequence of oxygen deficiency. Signs embody physique ache, weak point, fatigue, infections, and stroke.
• Nandurbar has been missing primary well being infrastructure, medicines, and specialists to deal with SCA.
• Nonetheless, the Armed Forces Medical Faculty (AFMC) has established a satellite tv for pc middle in Nandurbar to check SCA.
• The Built-in Sickle Cell Anaemia Analysis Program (I-SCARP) in Nandurbar can be exploring naturopathy for curing SCA.
• Toddler Deaths: Nandurbar had reported 179 little one deaths in three months, with 70% of deaths occurring in infants aged 0–28 days.
• Chief Medical Officer of the district, Sawan Kumar, had stated elements like low start weight, start asphyxia, sepsis, and respiratory illnesses had led to the deaths.
• He added that 60% of deaths happen in two talukas of Nandurbar, the place villages lack 12-month connectivity and have highway issues, making it tough for ambulances to achieve.
• The CMO subsequently launched ‘Mission Lakshya 84 Days’ in September 2023 to handle toddler and maternal mortality. The mission allocates 42 days to antenatal care (ANC) and 42 days to postnatal care (PNC).
• In response to a report within the Indian Categorical, dwelling deliveries within the district dropped practically five-fold between September 2023 and January 2024, with solely 211 circumstances reported in comparison with 1,060 in the identical interval the earlier yr.
• Drought: Nandurbar is without doubt one of the drought-drone districts of Maharashtra. It is without doubt one of the 11 districts within the state which might be extremely weak to excessive climate occasions, droughts and dwindling water safety, as per a research by the Indian Council of Agricultural Analysis (ICAR) and the Nationwide Dairy Analysis Institute (NDRI).
• As per the report, Nandurbar is essentially the most weak district to cyclones, floods, droughts, altering rainfall patterns and excessive temperatures, affecting its crop manufacturing.
• Forest Rights Act: A number of households in Nandurbar district are ready for his or her claims to be accepted beneath the Forest Rights Act.
• Thought-about a milestone in redressing the historic injustice executed to Scheduled Tribes and different conventional forest dwellers, the Forest Rights Act 2006 goals to recognise forest rights of such communities dwelling in forests for generations.
• In response to authorities knowledge, the FRA declare disposal price within the final 5 years has come down from 87.72 per cent to 84.44 per cent.
• Throughout his March go to to Nandurbar, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Occasion governments have wrongly rejected hundreds of claims beneath the Forest Rights Act and denied tribals entry to the forests.
• Migration: With mass unemployment, Nandurbar additionally sees its youth and ready workforce migrate to different districts of Maharashtra in addition to Gujarat in seek for employment.
• There may be mass migration amongst farm employees and labourers within the agriculture sector too. This pattern correlates with the rising frequency and severity of drought situations aggravated by local weather change.
• Exploitation of Farm Staff: A lot of the farm employees who migrate work within the sugar trade. Nearly all of these migrating for work reduce sugarcane in the course of the harvest season.
• Native labour contractors — often known as “mukkadams” — usually rent husband-and-wife groups or “jodis” to work in pairs, not by means of formal contracts however casual agreements.
• A typical day for these labourers includes shifts starting from 12 to 16 hours, all through the six-month harvest interval. Males often reduce the cane whereas the ladies tie and stack bundles.
• They’re typically subjected to wage deductions for work missed, making a concern of taking any depart.

Voter Demographics

Social composition

SC — 4.01%

ST — 65%

Non secular composition

Buddhist — 0.42%

Christian — 0.4%

Jain — 0.47%

Muslim — 6.95%

Sikh — 0.05%

Main Infra Tasks in Nandurbar

• Hospital and Authorities Medical Faculty: In February this yr, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the inspiration stone for a brand new 500-bed hospital in Nandurbar.
• The venture, price greater than Rs 600 crore, contains the development of the medical school, hospital, and associated buildings, and shall be devoted to the tribal communities of Nandurbar.
• The venture is anticipated to be accomplished by February 2026.
• Freeway Tasks: In April 2022, Union Minister for Street Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid basis stones for 2 Nationwide highways initiatives price Rs 1,791.46 crore in Dhule that may impetus to the financial improvement of Dhule and Nandurbar districts.
• The initiatives will make it simpler for the residents to achieve vacationer points of interest like Brass Cave-Caves and Gautala Sanctuary, the world-famous Ajanta Caves and Daulatabad Fort.
• The Shewali-Nandurbar highway venture shall be helpful for the event of tribal areas within the area.
• Janjatiya Gaurav Hall: The Janjatiya Gaurav Hall is a Rs 70,000 crore initiative to enhance rail connectivity and infrastructure in tribal-dominated areas of India.
• The initiative is a part of the 2023-2024 finances and goals to assist tribal communities, promote socio-economic development, and handle connectivity gaps.

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