LATUR

The district of Latur - named after Lattalur, an ancient city of the Rashtrakuta dynasty - was officially established in 1982, carved out from parts of the Dharashiv (then Osmanabad) district. At the time of India’s independence, the region that now forms Latur district was part of the princely Hyderabad State under the rule of Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. It was annexed into the Indian Union in 1950 and later, under the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, the Hyderabad State was dissolved. The region was merged into the Bombay State. Following the Bombay Reorganisation Act of 1960, the Bombay State was bifurcated into Gujarat and Maharashtra, and Latur became part of Maharashtra. In 1981, the region was administratively separated from Dharashiv district, and in 1982, Latur was officially declared a separate district.

The Latur District includes the Latur Lok Sabha constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Castes – the seat was established only in 1962, by the third round of elections. The Lok Sabha constituency comprises 6 Vidhan Sabha segments: Ahmedpur, Latur City, Latur Rural, Loha, Nilanga, and Udgir (SC). Within these, the Loha Constituency is located in the Nanded district, making it the only Vidhan Sabha segment of Latur that is located outside the Latur district.

Along with this, the Latur district includes the Ausa Constituency, which comes under the Osmanabad  Lok Sabha constituency. The given map provides an overview of the Latur District and the Latur Lok Sabha constituency.

Within the Vidhan Parishad, the Latur District is represented by Osmanabad-cum-Latur-cum-Beed Local Bodies Authorities Constituency, the Aurangabad Teachers’ Constituency, and the Aurangabad Graduates Constituency. The Graduates and Teachers’ Constituencies are based on the administrative divisions of Maharashtra.

The given maps provide an overview of the boundaries of the Latur district and the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha Constituencies that fall within and around it.

Based on records from the delimitation reports by the Election Commission, it is evident that there have been significant changes to the Vidhan Sabha constituencies within the Latur district over the years. Particularly noteworthy is the reshuffling of the Vidhan Sabha constituencies between the Osmanabad, Latur, and Nanded Lok Sabha constituencies.

The given chart provides an overview of the changes that have occurred in the composition of the Latur Lok Sabha constituency and the reshuffling of the Vidhan Sabha constituencies with every delimitation that has been done.

The following is the current Member of Parliament (MP) representing Latur district in the Lok Sabha, as of 2024:

The following are the current Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) representing constituencies in Latur district, as of 2024:

There is no member currently in the Rajya Sabha who is from the Latur district.

The Guardian Minister of Kolhapur is Shivendra Raje Bhosale from the BJP.

The following table lists the current Members of the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad representing Latur district through various constituencies, as of 2024:

The following are the key administrative heads of Latur district, as of 2024:

There are 10 Urban Local Bodies in the Latur District: 1 Mahanagar Palika, 4 Nagar Parishad, 5 Nagar Panchayat. There are 1156 Gram Panchayats and 15 Panchayat Samiti.

Latur district has one Zilla Parishad, headed by Chief Executive Officer Anmol Sagar (IAS).

The Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC), established on 25th October 2011, is responsible for the administration of Latur city. As of 2023, the corporation governs a total of 70 wards. Since its formation, political control of the LMC has alternated between the BJP, INC, and SHS. The current Mayor, Vikrant Vikram Gojamunde of the BJP, was elected in 2017; however, subsequent civic body elections were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the administrative reshuffle of July 2023, Varsha Thakur-Ghuge (IAS) was appointed as the Collector and District Magistrate of Latur district.

Latur district has several municipalities (Nagar Palikas) that function as urban local governance bodies for medium-sized towns. These include the Ahamedpur Nagar Palika, Udgir Nagar Palika, Ausa Nagar Palika, and Nilanga Nagar Palika.

The district also has a number of Nagar Panchayats, which serve as town councils for smaller or semi-urban settlements. These are the Jalkot Nagar Panchayat, Deoni Nagar Panchayat, Renapur Nagar Panchayat, Shirur Anantpal Nagar Panchayat, and Chakur Nagar Panchayat.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, there were 28 candidates contesting for the Latur Lok Sabha seat. Out of these nine had criminal cases registered against them, and three had serious criminal cases registered against them. An independent candidate had 10 cases registered against him. The elected MP, Dr. Kalge Shivaji Bandappa, has no cases registered against him.

During the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections, there were a total of 75 candidates contesting from the Vidhan Sabha segments of Latur. Out of these, 16 candidates had criminal cases registered against them, with nine of them having serious cases registered. Of the six elected MLAs, only Nilangekar Sambaji Patil from Nilanga Vidhan Sabha constituency has serious criminal cases registered against him.

In 2008, Pangaon village in Latur witnessed communal clashes arising due to an issue of access to passages near religious sites. The argument among a young group escalated violently and resulted in the death of 4 individuals. In response, the local administration imposed a curfew in the affected area. It took a week for the situation to return to normalcy.

Anandwadi village, more commonly known as Gaur, in Nilanga taluka of Latur district, elected an all-woman panchayat in 2021, with six members chosen unopposed in the local elections. This milestone was made possible by the earlier efforts of two-time sarpanch Bhagyashree Chame, who, along with Shobha Kasle and Kalpana Sagar, had been among the three women elected to the panchayat in 2015.

Under their leadership, the village has witnessed significant transformations. These include improved sanitation, a campaign to eliminate superstitions, and the symbolic change of nameplates on all 112 homes to reflect the names of women occupants. Other initiatives include installing a sanitary napkin dispenser, promoting the inclusion of widows in festivals, encouraging organ donation, and setting up a free flour-grinding mill for residents.

In September-November 2023, several districts in eastern Maharashtra experienced the impact of state-wide protests led by Jarange Patil, demanding reservation for the Maratha community. On 24 October 2023, thousands of protestors from the Marathi community gathered at Borgaon Kale village and blocked the Murud-Latur road, holding up traffic for nearly two hours. Protests also took place in the villages of Nagzari and Katgaon.