Nagpur, India: As Nagpur heads into the Assembly elections, data from the Election Expenditure Office reveals that Congress candidates Dr. Nitin Raut (Nagpur North) and Girish Pandav (Nagpur South) are leading in campaign spending among 117 contenders across the city’s six Assembly seats.

Dr. Raut’s expenditures stand at ₹12,57,585 according to the Shadow Observation Register (SOR), while his reported spending is ₹1,93,288, leaving a substantial gap of ₹10,64,297 to reconcile. Under election rules, candidates have a spending cap of ₹40 lakh, with breaches risking disqualification. In comparison, BJP candidate Dr. Milind Mane has a SOR expenditure of ₹7,93,423 and a reported amount of ₹5,27,362, while BSP’s Manoj Sangole has spent a comparatively lower ₹2,07,220.

In Nagpur South, Girish Pandav also significantly outpaces his BJP rival, Mohan Mate, with SOR figures showing ₹12,47,839 spent versus a reported ₹9,56,139. Mate reported ₹2,58,018, though the SOR notes ₹5,35,746. VBA candidate Satyabhama Lokhande has an expenditure tally of ₹2,91,646.

The Nagpur South-West race sees Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP candidate, spending ₹4,09,878 as per SOR, with a declared amount of ₹2,00,522. His opponent, Congress’s Prafulla Gudadhe Patil, has outspent him, recording ₹7,99,990 in campaign expenditures.

In Nagpur West, Congress MLA Vikas Thakre is campaigning hard to retain his seat, reporting ₹7,59,550 in expenses. BJP’s Sudhakar Kohale trails with ₹4,55,455 in SOR spending, while Independent candidate and ex-Congress leader Narendra Jichkar is also in the race with ₹4,25,485.

Nagpur Central is witnessing close competition, with BJP’s Pravin Datke spending ₹4,91,414 as per SOR and Congress’s Bunty Shelke at ₹3,29,241. Independent Ramesh Punekar adds to the mix with ₹2,50,280.

In Nagpur East, NCP candidate Duneshwar Pethe is leading in expenses with ₹10,06,314, outpacing BJP’s Krishna Khopde at ₹2,04,580. Independent Purushottam Hazare is also making an impact with spending at ₹1,87,962.

With these varied expenditures, candidates are striving to make their mark, as the campaign heats up across Nagpur’s constituencies in the final stretch before the polls.