26 March,2024 08:03 PM IST | Nagpur | mid-day online correspondent
Vikas Thakre. Pic/X
Congress nominee from Maharashtra's Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency, Vikas Thakre, on Tuesday said the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 are a fight between two contrasting ideologies working to save and damage the Constitution, respectively, reported the PTI.
Vikas Thakre, a sitting MLA, is pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart and Union minister Nitin Gadkari from this constituency, which goes to polls in the first phase on April 19 along with four other seats in the east Vidarbha region.
Addressing the media after filing his nomination papers, the Congress leader alleged that the common people in Nagpur are awaiting justice after the ten-year "misrule" of the NDA government, as per the PTI.
Vikas Thakre, the sitting MLA from the Nagpur West constituency, also heads the city Congress unit. A former mayor, Vikas Thakre had defeated BJP's Sudhakar Deshmukh in the 2019 assembly elections, according to the PTI.
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"This is a battle between two ideologies- one which is fighting to save the Constitution while the other which is working to damage the Constitution. Opposition parties will fight collectively to save the Constitution and democracy," he said, the news agency reported.
Speaking on the occasion, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole claimed no significant development has been done by BJP in Nagpur.
"The atmosphere in Nagpur and the rest of the country is anti-BJP and anti-Modi," he alleged.
Accusing the BJP of failing to resolve issues including unemployment and inflation and doing injustice to farmers, Patole said the "INDI" alliance is fighting against the injustice done by the BJP.
Meanwhile, Nana Patole also said the Congress has taken steps to bring along Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.
"Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray will speak with VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar to take VBA of Prakash Ambedkar along," he added, the news agency reported on Tuesday.
Nitin Gadkari had defeated Congress candidates in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, including Nana Patole, from Nagpur in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra's first round battles for the 2024 Lok Sabha election have been set rolling. Over the Holi weekend, the BJP announced three remaining candidates in eastern Vidarbha, while its close rival, the Congress, came out with all five, making it a straight fight between them in four places. In one seat, the Congress will contest against the BJP's ally, Shiv Sena.
(with PTI inputs)
