Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 48 parliamentary constituencies of Maharashtra. It is also a reserved constituency for Naxal-affected Scheduled Tribes. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Congress’s Dr. Namdev Kirsan won by defeating BJP’s Ashok Nete. This Lok Sabha constituency came into existence in 2008 after the recommendation of the Delimitation Commission constituted in 2002. The first election on this seat was contested in 2009. Chimur area of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts’ tehsils have been included in this Lok Sabha. This area is connected to the borders of Telangana and Chhattisgarh states. People of many tribal castes reside in Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha constituency. Being a forest area, Tendu leaves and Mahua are also produced here in large quantities.
This Lok Sabha constituency is spread across Gondia, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts. It includes the constituencies of Amgaon, Armori, Gadchiroli, Ahiri, Brahmapuri and Chimur. Out of which four assembly constituencies are reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category. Currently, three out of 6 seats are with the Bharatiya Janata Party, two with the Congress and one with the Nationalist Congress Party. Amgaon is the only assembly constituency of Gadchiroli Lok Sabha constituency which falls under Gondia district. This seat is reserved for the SC category. There is always a close contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress here. In the last election, Sahasram Maruti Korote of Congress snatched this seat from Sanjay Hanumant Rao Puram of BJP.
Armori Assembly seat, known as number 67 in Maharashtra Assembly, falls under Gadchiroli district. This constituency is also reserved for scheduled tribes. This seat came into existence in 1962 with the formation of the state and all parties except NCP have tasted victory on this seat. Currently, Gajabe Krishna Damaji of Bharatiya Janata Party is the MLA from here, who has won the election twice in a row. Before him, Anandrao Gangaram Gedam has represented this seat. Who won the 2004 and 2009 elections on Congress Party ticket.
Gadchiroli Assembly seat, which came into existence from the second assembly election of Maharashtra state, comes under Gadchiroli district. This constituency is also reserved for scheduled tribes. So far, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party have failed to open their account on this seat. For the last two elections, Dr. Devrao Madguji Holi of Bharatiya Janata Party has been winning the elections here. Before him, Dr. Namdev Dalluji Usendi of Congress was the MLA from here. Ahiri Assembly seat of this Lok Sabha constituency is another seat reserved for scheduled tribes. This constituency also comes completely under Gadchiroli district. Atram Dharmaraobaba Bhagwant Rao of Nationalist Congress Party of Ajit Pawar’s faction is the MLA from here at present. Bhagwant Rao has also been an MLA earlier in 1990 and from 1999 to 2009. This is his fourth term in the assembly. He has reached the assembly twice on the ticket of Nationalist Congress Party, once on the ticket of Indian National Congress and once on the ticket of Gondwana Ganatantra Party. He has also been given a place in the cabinet of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in 2023.
Brahmapuri constituency, which comes under Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha, comes under Chandrapur district. This seat, which came into existence in 1962, was won by Vijay Wadettiwar of Congress in the last election. He has been winning this seat for the last two elections. Before him, this seat was in the possession of Bharatiya Janata Party for 15 years. MLA Wadettiwar is also the leader of opposition in the current assembly of Maharashtra. He is the 27th leader of Maharashtra to hold this post. Even before holding this post, he has performed different responsibilities as a minister in many ministries of previous governments. Before winning the seat of Brahmapuri, he was also an MLA from Chimur assembly for about 10 years.
Chimur Assembly constituency, dominated by Congress, falls under Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. Congress has been winning elections on this seat continuously from 1962 to 1995. Currently, Bunty Bhangdiya of Bharatiya Janata Party has been MLA from here for 10 years. Before him, the leader of opposition in the state, Vijay Wadettiwar, was MLA for 10 years first on Shiv Sena ticket and then on Congress ticket. Bhangdiya is among the richest public representatives of Vidarbha region. He is also considered close to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The election in this constituency is fought more on local issues than national issues. The popularity of local leaders matters the most to win the election. The dominant ST and SC population has always been inclined towards the BJP most of the time, while there is no religious polarization here. Voters in the area vote on local issues related to unemployment, forest land ownership, development, etc. Voters also appreciate Prime Minister Modi’s development agenda and the implementation of various welfare schemes especially for the poor and Scheduled Tribe communities. Left Wing Extremism has been a major problem in Gadchiroli-Chimur, Chandrapur and other areas. The Bharatiya Janata Party is against Naxals and dozens of armed terrorists have been killed in anti-Naxal operations in the last decade.
Besides, politically too the Maoists have been sidelined due to development, better connectivity and the mainstreaming of tribals. In many ways, Gadchiroli, surrounded by dense forests, is a hotspot and an inter-state junction for Naxalites, as it is located at a key location in the Red Corridor and shares borders with Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh and Telangana. Insurgency is a major issue. Naxal activities have been severely cracked down upon by the state police as well as central security agencies in the last decade. Gadchiroli’s indigenous anti-Naxal force, the C60 Commandos, are renowned for their anti-Naxal operations and outreach to the local population. The two-pronged strategy of eliminating armed militants, mainstreaming the most backward communities and facilitating development has significantly improved the security situation in Gadchiroli and liberated large parts of the area from Naxalism.
