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26/11 govt counsel Ujjwal Nikam BJP's candidate from Mumbai North Central
Ujjwal Nikam was the government's lawyer in the 26/11 case. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2016.
Former special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam will be contesting the Lok Sabha election from the Mumbai North Central constituency against Congress's Varsha Gaikwad. The BJP decided to drop sitting MP Poonam Mahajan. Ujjwal Nikam, in his long and illustrious legal career, was associated with many cases including 1993 Bombay bombings, the Gulshan Kumar murder case, Pramod Mahajan murder case and the 2008 Mumbai attack. He was also the special public prosecutor in the 2013 Mumbai gang rape case. Ujjwal Nikam was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.
After Ajmal Kasab was hanged, Ujjwal Nikam said it was a victory for India and by hanging Kasab, India paid homage to all the policemen and innocent people who lost their lives in the terror attack.
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Ujjwal Nikam is from Jalgaon and in the last elections the BJP was mulling him as a candidate from Jalgaon.
"For years, you saw me fighting against the accused in court. But today, BJP has given me the responsibility for which I am thankful to PM Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekar Bawankule, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar. I know that politics is not for me but through you, I would like to tell everyone that the country's Constitution, laws and security would be my priorities...The constituency from where I have been told to contest is a very important constituency of Mumbai. This has been represented by late Manohar Joshi, Ramdas Athawale and Poonam Mahajan. These people have always raised questions in Parliament in the national interest..." Ujjwal Nikam said in his first reaction to his candidature.
The BJP has decided to drop sitting MP Poonam Mahajan as many poll surveys showed a negative rating for her. The name of Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar was also being discussed but he reportedly declined to contest. Some reports claimed Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit was also approached for the seat.
Poonam Mahajan won the seat in 2014 and 2019 defeating Congress's Priya Dutt who was the MP from 2009 to 2014. This is a seat which in 2009 saw senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani as a BJP candidate but he lost to Priya Dutt. Voting in Mumbai is scheduled to be held on May 20 in the fifth phase of the polls.
Poonam Mahajan is the daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. She served as the president of the BJP's youth wing.
Maharashtra with its 48 Lok Sabha seats is the second-largest contributor to the Lok Sabha, after Uttar Pradesh. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of 25 contested seats, while the undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 out of 23 seats.
