Nagpur: Ramtek constituency is one of the 12 assembly constituencies in Nagpur district, six of them rural and six urban. It's a pilgrim centre known for the very ancient Ram temple also known as Gad Mandir situated atop a hill. Another historic connection of this place is with Mahakavi Kalidasa.
On invitation of Vakataka King of Vidarbha around 400 AD, Kalidasa is believed to have visited this place, Captivated by the beauty of the place, he stayed on to pen his magnum opus Meghadootam.
Once known as the safe haven for Congress, it achieved political importance when former prime minister the late P V Narasimha Rao contested from the Ramtek Lok Sabha seat once.
But today, ironically, the Congress symbol will be missing from the election scene for the first time. The party had to bow down before an adamant Shiv Sena (Uddhav) and concede in the seat-sharing talks to leave it to the Sena (UBT) .
So, though on the face of it, it may look like a straight fight between Sena (UBT) nominee Vishal Barbate and Sena (Shinde)'s Ashish Jaiswal, what has queered the pitch is presence of a Congress rebel Rajendra Mulak who has jumped into the fray. Mulak has a presence in Nagpur rural .
Mulak is a protégé of ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan and also related to him. He comes from a prominent Congress family. His father Bhau Mulak was a MLA and minister in 70s. Rajendra Mulak was a minister of state in Prithviraj Chavan ministry and held portfolios like finance and energy.
A dynamic and committed Congress leader, Rajendra Mulak earlier used to contest from Umred assembly constituency but after delimitation in 2009 the seat has been reserved for Scheduled caste candidates and so out of bounds for Mulak who is Kunbi Maratha. Since then he has been working for the party organisation especially Nagpur district rural which has six assembly seats of Unred, kamptee, Saoner, Hingna, Ramtek and Katol.
Mulak's clout can be gauged by the fact that though he now stands expelled from the Congress party for six years, he is being actively supported by the Congress leaders in the area. There are reports that sitting Congress MLA from Saoner and strongman Sunil Kedar as well as Shaykumar Barve, the Congress MP from Ramtek are openly campaigning for Mulak who is now contesting as an independent. He put up a massive show of strength at the time of filing his nomination papers.
Sena UBT candidate Barbate, a debutant who has a major car dealership in Nagpur city, is perceived as a weak candidate. He is already facing an uphill task taking on Ashish Jaiswal of Sena (Shinde). Jaiswal is a popular leader and has an enviable electoral track record winning the seat for three consecutive terms in 1999, 2004 and 2009. He lost the seat in 2014 to Mallikarjun Reddy but then again won it in 2019 as an independent when the undivided Sena denied him ticket.
So once a Congress stronghold that has been gone with the Sena-BJP since 1999 elections is all set to witness a fierce fight between the two factions of the Shiv Sena . But clearly an independent candidate Rajendra Mulak could spring a surprise because of his strong presence in the region for his work till now for the Congress organization.
In probably the first instance in the ensuing state election the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate has openly accused Mahav Vikas Aghadi partner Congress of ditching the ‘ coalition dharma’ by supporting a rebel candidate in Ramtek assembly constituency .
In the midst of a hectic campaign, Vishal Barbate , the official nominee of Uddhav Sena has allegedrong that rebel Congress candidate Rajendra Mulak , who ia contesting as an independent is being supported by the local Congress leaders in violation of the MVA pact.
Mulak who defied the party to contest the seat that was allocated yo Uddhav Sena, is seen as a strong contender more so with Congress MP from Ramtek Shyam kumar Barve as well Saoner sitting Congress MLA Sunil Kedar campaigning for him.
