Political ideologies and loyalties are no bar in Nandurbar as four members of the Gavit family are contesting from the four assembly constituencies of the district. At the centre of the Gavit clan in Vijaykumar Gavit, a former minister who has represented his constituency six times as an MLA, once as an Independent, a few terms as a member of the undivided NCP and then as a BJP member. His daughter Heena entered the Lok Sabha in 2014 winning the Parliamentary polls. Now, she is contesting the state assembly as an Independent.
The region’s demographics include almost 70 per cent tribals with low education and employment opportunities which has made them heavily dependent on government schemes and assistance. This is one of the reasons the region has given rise to political strongmen.
Gavit was a professor of medicine when he began his political career in 1995 where his campaign was ably supported by his brothers Sharad and Rajendra. He contested as an Independent but aligned with the Shiv Sena-BJP government of the time and was made a minister. He then moved to the NCP, was given a ministerial berth in the Congress-NCP government and then joined the BJP in 2014. He inducted his brothers into electoral politics and sought tickets from various parties for them. The family has seen shifts across parties over the years with the brothers contesting from the Samajwadi Party, the NCP, Shiv Sena and the BJP in various elections.
In 2014, Gavit ensured a victory for his daughter Heena who became among the youngest Members of Parliament from Maharashtra to enter the Lok Sabha that year. She lost to the Congress in 2024 and is now set to contest the assembly elections. To corner the four assembly seats from Nandurbar, the Gavit family has now spread its wings to different parties. While Vijaykumar will contest on a BJP ticket from Nandurbar, his brother Rajendra has got a ticket from Shahada as a Congress candidate while Sharad and Heena are independents contesting from Nawapur and Akkalkuva respectively. With this move, the family is hedging its bets. While contesting from four seats from different parties, it is believed that at least one member will reach the state assembly, which helps the Gavits retain their hold and influence over Nandurbar.
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