Gedam's loss is Gajbe's gain as Armori may see lopsided fight

Nagpur: The stunned look on the faces of Congress workers and the demoralized campaign after their candidate ex-MLA Anandrao Gedam was implicated in a kidnapping case in the Armori assembly constituency of Maoist-affected north Gadchiroli said it all with polling less than a week away.

As Gedam, his son Lawrence and key Congress leaders of the constituency remained busy in trying to evade arrests through anticipatory bail, their opposition, the BJP camp of sitting MLA Krushna Gajbe, seemed to be enjoying the unchallenged run in the campaigning phase.

Gajbe had defeated two-time MLA Gedam in 2014 by 12, 733 votes. Apart from Shiv Sena rebel Surendrasingh Chandel, who is now contesting as an independent, there seems to be not much of an opposition for Gajbe in the scheduled tribe reserved constituency.

In 2009, the then Sena candidate Chandel was defeated by Gedam who became an MLA for the second time. Earlier, Gedam had become MLA for the first time after defeating Sena’s Ramkrishna Madavi in 2004.

This year, Gedam’s ticket was uncertain with former assistant commissioner from the revenue department Madhuri Madavi, an ex-NCP corporator in Gadchiroli several years ago, also seeking to contest on a Congress ticket.

Gedam was fortunate to get the ticket but he ran out of luck after his Mumbai-based son Lawrence and aides allegedly abducted Congress rebel Bagguji Tadam and threatened him to withdraw. With the offence of kidnapping and threatening getting registered against Gedam, his son Lawrence and other key leaders at Armori police station, the Congress’s prospects too seemed to nose-dive. Their prospect further worsened after the court in Gadchiroli had rejected the ad-interim bail plea of Gedam and his right-hand Jeevan Patilnat.

According to a political expert from Armori constituency, Gajbe was already strong as a candidate with the formidable kingmaker of the region ‘the sahukar’ group backing him. “Gajbe’s personal image is also clean and he is known for his humility,” he said.

On the flip-side, Sena rebel Chandel contesting the election is seen as a vote diving factor for Gajbe. Another damaging factor for Gajbe is the Gowari community, which had sought a BJP ticket for their leader. After being refused, it’s reliably learnt that the 30,000-35,000 Gowari population is now keen to show BJP their strength. They too have fielded their candidate, Dudhakuwar Gopala, as an independent.

Gajbe, who is keen to double his victory margin, said he is not worried about Chandel or the Gowari unity. “Chandel is fighting as an independent. The Gowari community may be united but that does not mean they will also follow a similar voting pattern. Their choice is bound to differ,” Gajbe said.

On the issue of the criminal case against his closest rival Gedam, Gajbe did not comment. “I have always believed in developmental work and remained accessible to everyone in my constituency,” he said.

With complications in the criminal case growing and a powerful lobby trying to ensure that Gedam refrains from campaigning, the former MLA’s chance to reach out to his mass base too seems to be thinning.

According to a Congress worker, former MLA Dr Namdeo Usendi as District Congress president and other grass-root level activists are merely trying to keep their chin up for the party with a weak fight and not much time left to salvage the situation.

With Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s Ramesh Korcha and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Balkrushna Sadmake also appealing to their vote bank, it would be not surprising if they end up eating into the Congress’s vote share.