Mumbai: Ending weeks of uncertainty, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dropped incumbent MP Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late party stalwart Pramod Mahajan, for the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency, replacing her with former special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
Nikam, who hails from Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, was associated with several high-profile cases such as the 1993 serial bomb blasts, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and even the Pramod Mahajan murder case and was instrumental in sending 26/11 convict Ajmal Kasab and 1993 blasts convict Yakub Memon to the gallows. His candidature indicates that issues such as security and terror are likely to be among the dominant factors of the BJP’s campaign in Mumbai.
Soon after getting nominated to contest the Lok Sabha, Nikam, at a press conference, said: “My attempt will be to prioritise the country’s Constitution, law, and security and I will always see what questions can be raised in Parliament regarding these priorities. In Mumbai, I have worked on several cases that struck a chord with national welfare…I will show people in the coming days that one can work for social and national welfare through politics”.
Nikam will take on Varsha Gaikwad, Congress MLA and the current chief of the Mumbai Congress who is Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) candidate for Mumbai North Central. The MVA comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Congress, and the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
In a post on the social media platform ‘X,’ Congress leader Sachin Sawant said Nikam’s candidature shows that true blue BJP workers have no value. “His candidature once again shows that in BJP the value of the true party workers is zero and that of outsiders is more. I share the grief of the BJP’s karyakartas and leaders whose tickets were cut to accommodate outsiders,” Sawant said.
तुमचं दुःख समजू शकतो सर
— Karan Gourshete (@GoursheteKaran) April 27, 2024
Mahajan did not respond to ThePrint’s call for a comment. However, she said on the social media platform ‘X’ that her father had always shown her a path of “nation first, then us,” and that she prayed to God that she’s “always able to follow this path”.
10 वर्षों तक एक सांसद के रूप में मुंबई उत्तर मध्य लोकसभा क्षेत्र की सेवा का मौक़ा देने के लिए @BJP4India और प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी का धन्यवाद।
मुझे एक सांसद ही नहीं बल्कि एक बेटी की तरह भी स्नेह देने के लिए मैं क्षेत्र की परिवार समान जनता की सदैव ऋणी रहूँगी, और यही…
— Poonam Mahajan (मोदी का परिवार) (@poonam_mahajan) April 27, 2024
“I will always be indebted to the people of the area who are like family for loving me not just as an MP but like a daughter. I hope this relationship will always remain,” Mahajan said in her post, written in Hindi.
Mumbai goes to polls on 20 May.
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BJP’s Mumbai campaign likely on terror, security
With Nikam’s candidature, a large part of the BJP’s campaign in Mumbai is likely to be centred around the issues of terror and security.
Manoj Kotak, incumbent BJP MP from the Mumbai North East constituency, said Nikam’s candidature will bring advantages for the BJP not just for the Mumbai North Central constituency, but across the city.
“This will impact the entire city. Ujjwal ji Nikam is a renowned public prosecutor who has worked on cases against anti-nationals. Mumbaikars will have the opportunity to elect a true patriot,” Kotak, who has been replaced by Mihir Kotecha for the Mumbai North East constituency, told ThePrint.
Kotak added that in the last ten years, “under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mumbai has seen a secured atmosphere, but issues of terror and security are touchy for every Mumbaikar, and Nikam has not just fought cases, but shown results.”
While speaking with reporters, Nikam, however, said that the direction and theme of his campaign will be decided by “experienced politicians” such as Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Bandra West MLA Ashish Shelar.
Nikam, who started his career as a district prosecutor in Jalgaon, was also the public prosecutor in the 1997 Gulshan Kumar murder case, the 2004 Gateway of India blasts case, the 2006 Khairlanji massacre where a Dalit family was beaten and murdered, the 2013 Shakti mills gang rape case and so on.
During the 26/11 trial, Nikam had caused a stir by telling reporters that Kasab had demanded mutton biryani in jail. In 2015, almost three years after Kasab was executed, Nikam went on record to say that he had “concocted” the biryani story to stem the growing sympathy for Kasab among a certain section of the population.
‘Will consult Poonam tai’
A senior BJP leader who did not wish to be named told ThePrint that the party leadership was reluctant to repeat Mahajan as internal surveys had shown some anti-incumbency.
“She will be accommodated in some other role within the party,” he said.
Like Mahajan, the BJP also dropped incumbent MP Pritam Munde, daughter of late BJP strongman Gopinath Munde, from Beed, replacing her with her sister Pankaja Munde amid talks of the Munde sisters being ignored by the party. Gopinath Munde was Pramod Mahajan’s brother-in-law.
Nikam said he knows “Poonam tai” whom he frequently met while working on the trial for her father Pramod Mahajan’s murder. Mahajan was shot by his younger brother Pravin.
“She has a studious personality. It is natural for someone who has represented a constituency for ten years to expect another term. So, I will surely consult her on how to solve certain sticking issues of this constituency,” Nikam said, adding he never underestimates anyone.
Mumbai has six parliamentary constituencies of which the BJP has so far named candidates for three — union minister Piyush Goyal for Mumbai North, Kotecha for Mumbai North East, and Nikam for Mumbai North Central. The BJP’s ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has incumbent MP Rahul Shewale as its candidate for Mumbai South Central. The alliance is yet to name its candidates for Mumbai South and Mumbai North West.
The Mumbai North Central seat comprises areas such as Bandra West, Bandra East, Kalina, Kurla, Chandivali, and Vile Parle.
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