CHANDRAPUR

Located in the eastern tract of Maharashtra, Chandrapur district has a long and layered history. Once known as Chanda or Rajapur, the region was ruled by the Gond king Khandkya Ballal Shah, who established his capital here and gave rise to the Kingdom of Chanda, one of the principal Gond polities in central India. Before Gond rule brought relative stability, the area had witnessed periods of early human occupation, local chieftainships, and possibly formed part of the ancient Haihaya Kosala territory mentioned in the 7th-century account of Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang.

During the Maratha period, the region came under the Bhosale dynasty and was later annexed by the British East India Company. Under British rule, Chandrapur was incorporated into the Central Provinces, falling within the administrative bounds of Madhya Pradesh. In 1874, Chandrapur city was formally declared an independent district. Following the States Reorganization Act of 1956, the district was transferred from Madhya Pradesh to the Bombay State, and with the formation of Maharashtra in 1960, it became part of the new state. In 1982, the district was bifurcated to create the Gadchiroli district.

Chandrapur has also played a role in India’s freedom struggle, with villages like Chimur becoming active centres of nationalist resistance, particularly during the Quit India Movement in 1942.

The Chandrapur district consists of the Chandrapur and the joint Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha constituencies.

This constituency spans both Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts and includes the following Vidhan Sabha segments:

This constituency includes parts of Chandrapur and Yavatmal districts. The Vidhan Sabha segments are:

Within the Vidhan Parishad, the Chandrapur 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 Chandrapur district and the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha Constituencies that fall within and around it.

The Chandrapur Lok Sabha constituency was established after the third round of delimitation, and the Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha constituency was established after the latest delimitation round of 2002. The given chart provides an overview of the changes that have occurred in the composition of the Lok Sabha constituencies and the reshuffling of the Vidhan Sabha constituencies with every delimitation in the district.

The current Member of Parliament, as of 2024, representing Chandrapur district in the Lok Sabha is Pratibha Dhanorkar from the Indian National Congress (INC).

The Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) elected from assembly segments in Chandrapur district are as follows:

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

Chandrapur district is represented in the Vidhan Parishad by the following members:

The key administrative officers and elected heads in the district are listed below:

There are 17 Urban Local Bodies in the Chandrapur District: 1 Mahanagar Palika, 10 Nagar Parishad, 6 Nagar Panchayat. There are 827 Gram Panchayats and 13 Panchayat Samiti.

Since 1960, Chandrapur district has been recognized as an independent district. Before 1874, the district comprised three talukas: Mul, Varora, and Bramhapuri. However, in 1874, with the amalgamation of the Godavari district from Madras state, four talukas, including Chandrapur, were incorporated into the district. The district's administrative center was established in Sironcha. In 1905, a new taluka was constructed with its headquarters in Gadchiroli. Furthermore, in 1907, due to the construction of a new fort in Chandrapur district, certain portions of land ownership were relocated within the district. Abdul Shafee was the first president of the Zila Parishad of Chandrapur.

Chandrapur City was established in 1854 and declared an independent district in 1874 as part of Madhya Pradesh state. No major changes occurred in the boundaries of the district or its talukas between 1911 and 1955. Consequent to the reorganization of the states in 1956, the district was transferred from Madhya Pradesh to Bombay State. Chandrapur Municipal Corporation was established in the year 2012. Sangita Amrutkar from the Congress party was elected as the first mayor of Chandrapur, and Sandeep Awari from Shiv Sena (SHS) as the deputy mayor in the first municipal corporation elections of 2012. In the 66-member corporation, the BJP or the INC has been in power for most of the time. Parties like SHS, MNS, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are also active players in the Municipal elections.

Chandrapur district has several municipal councils (Nagar Parishads) that function as urban local governance bodies. These include Ballarpur Nagar Parishad, Bhadravati Nagar Parishad, Bramhapuri Nagar Parishad, Chimur Nagar Parishad, Gadchandur Nagar Parishad, Ghugus Nagar Parishad, Mul Nagar Parishad, Nagbhid Nagar Parishad, Rajura Nagar Parishad, and Warora Nagar Parishad.

The district also has six Nagar Panchayats or town councils which serve as local administrative units in semi-urban areas. These are the Gondpimpri Nagar Panchayat, Jiwati Nagar Panchayat, Korpana Nagar Panchayat, Pombhurna Nagar Panchayat, Saoli Nagar Panchayat, and Sindewahi Nagar Panchayat.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, there were a total of 15 contestants from Chandrapur and 10 from Gadchiroli-Chimur. Out of these, there were only 4 contestants from Chandrapur that had criminal cases against them, with 1 of the candidates having serious cases registered. 1 contestant from Gadchiroli-Chimur had 1 registered criminal case against him. The candidate with the highest number of criminal cases registered was the BJP MLA from Ballarpur (Chandrapur), Sudhir Mungantiwar, with 2 criminal cases against him.

In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha election, there were a total of 147 contestants across the Vidhan Sabha segments of Chandrapur. Out of these, there were 40 contestants who had criminal cases against them, with 55% of the contestants having serious cases registered.

Narnaware was a founding member and former president of the student-led Chandrapur-based organization Deshbhakti Yuva Manch, which government agencies identified as a ‘frontal organization’ of the banned Maoist party. Along with her husband, activist Arun Bhelke (who was released in 2023), she was arrested in Pune in 2014 for her alleged involvement in Maoist recruitment activities in western Maharashtra. She had previously been arrested once before in 2008. Both were also part of the team that published College Katta, a student-focused magazine that provided a platform for youth voices between 2004 and 2008. In addition, Narnaware was associated with initiatives advocating for the rights of exploited and abused women. At the time of her death, she faced eight cases, of which she had been acquitted in five. Her bail applications were rejected twice between 2014 and 2021. She passed away on 24 January 2021, at Sassoon Hospital in Pune at the age of 37, following prolonged health complications. She had undergone open-heart surgery twice.