Shiv Sena gives ticket to wife of late MP Mohan Delkar for LS bypoll

Kalaben Delkar, wife of late Dadra and Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar, joined Shiv Sena on Thursday along with her son Abhinav in the presence of party chief and Maharashtra CM

Kalaben Delkar, wife of late Dadra and Nagar Haveli Member of Parliament Mohan Delkar, joined the Shiv Sena on Thursday along with her son Abhinav in the presence of party chief and Maharashtra chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray.

The by-poll was necessitated after Mohan Delkar died by suicide at a hotel in Marine Drive on February 22. The seven-term MP left behind a 14-page suicide note, accusing government officials and a few private persons of forcing him to take the step.

The party has decided to field the late MP’s wife in the bypoll on the Lok Sabha seat of Dadra and Nagar Haveli on October 30.

The by-poll was necessitated after Mohan Delkar died by suicide at a hotel in Marine Drive on February 22. The seven-term MP left behind a 14-page suicide note, accusing government officials and a few private persons of forcing him to take the step. A case was registered against the Union Territory’s administrator Prafull K Patel, who was a junior minister in the Gujarat government under then CM Narendra Modi, and other officials.

The Sena had raised the issue of Mohan Delkar’s death in the Lok Sabha and in Maharashtra, demanding action against the officials named in his suicide note.

A Shiv Sena functionary said that party’s chief spokesman Sanjay Raut was instrumental in getting Kalaben Delkar, Abhinav and their supporters to the party. Kalaben Delkar is expected to file her nomination on Friday.

According to the functionary, the party saw an opportunity to increase its tally in the Lok Sabha, especially on a seat from outside Maharashtra.

“Mohan Delkar had a tremendous support in his constituency because of the work that he did over the decades. At the same time, there is an anti-BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) wave there given the circumstances of the MP’s death. We will be able to grow our organisation through the Delkars in the Union Territory,” said the functionary.

Currently, Sena has 18 MPs in Lok Sabha.