WARDHA

The Wardha region has historically been ruled by a succession of dynasties, including the Mauryas, Shungas, Satavahanas, Rashtrakutas, Vakatakas, and later the Delhi Sultanate. In the 1850s, during British rule, the area - then part of Nagpur district - was incorporated into the Central Provinces. Wardha was carved out as a separate district in 1862.

At the time of India’s independence in 1947, Wardha remained within the state of Madhya Pradesh. Following the reorganization of states in 1956, it was transferred to the Bombay Province. With the formation of Maharashtra in 1960 under the Bombay Reorganization Act, Wardha became part of the newly created state.

The Wardha district consists of the Wardha Lok Sabha constituency, which includes six Vidhan Sabha segments: Arvi, Deoli, Dhamangaon Railway, Hinganghat, Morshi, Wardha. Only Dhamangaon Railway and Morshi among the Vidhan Sabha segments are situated in the Amravati district.

Within the Vidhan Parishad, the Wardha District is represented by Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadhchiroli Local Bodies Authorities Constituency, the Nagpur Teachers’ Constituency, and the Nagpur 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 Wardha 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, the given chart provides an overview of the changes that have occurred in the composition of the Wardha 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 Wardha district in the Lok Sabha, as of 2024:

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

There is no member from Wardha district currently representing Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha.

Dr. Pankaj Bhoyar (BJP) is the current Guardian Minister for Wardha district, as of 2024.

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

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

There are 10 Urban Local Bodies in the Wardha District: 6 Nagar Parishad, 4 Nagar Panchayat. There are 520 Gram Panchayats. Out of the 6 municipalities in the district four i.e. Wardha, Arvi, Hinganghat, Doeli have been established well over a hundred years ago.

The Wardha Zilla Parishad was established on 1 May 1962. It comprises a total of 50 seats.

Wardha district has six municipal councils that administer urban local governance in key towns. These include Wardha Nagar Parishad, which governs the district headquarters, and the Nagar Parishads of Arvi, Deoli, Hinganghat, Pulgaon, and Sindi.

In addition to the municipal councils, the district has four town councils, also known as Nagar Panchayats. These are located in Ashti, Samudrapur, Karanja, and Selu.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, there were a total of 24 contestants from Wardha. Out of these, three candidates had criminal cases against them, with two of the contestants having serious cases registered. Notably, the elected MP Amar Sharadrao Kale from NCP-SP has no criminal cases against him.

In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha election, there were 75 candidates from the six constituencies out of which 20 had criminal cases against them, with seven candidates having serious cases registered. The elected MLA from Morshi Devendra Bhuyar from Swabhimani Paksha and the elected MLA from Dhamangaon Adsad Pratap Arunbhau from BJP had 11 and three cases registered against them respectively.

The communal riots of 1925 in British India included sixteen separate incidents across the country. One of these occurred in Arvi, then a small town in Wardha district. The immediate cause of the violence was a private quarrel between two wrestlers, but rising tensions between the Hindu and Muslim communities had created a volatile atmosphere. The riot led to the deaths of three Muslims and left around 40 people - both Hindus and Muslims - injured.

The Congress Working Committee has convened in Wardha on several significant occasions, each with important implications for India’s political journey.

The 1939 meeting was marked by the Congress’s decision not to support the British government in any war-related activities. Congress Ministers were called upon to resign from their positions, and the meeting issued a resolution stating that if Britain genuinely supported a democratic world order, it must first implement democratic freedoms in India.

In 1942, the Congress Working Committee met again in Wardha, on 14 July. At this meeting, the Committee adopted a resolution demanding complete independence from British rule. The draft warned of a nationwide civil disobedience movement if their demands were not met. This resolution laid the groundwork for what would later become the Quit India Movement, officially launched in Bombay.

In 2018, the Congress Working Committee returned to Wardha in a symbolic move to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Breaking from recent tradition, the party chose this historic location to launch its year-long door-to-door campaign titled “Lok Sampark Abhiyan.”