Veer Savarkar’s daughter-in-law to contest elections

Himani Savarkar, who made headlines when she openly supported the Malegaon blast accused, has decided to enter the poll fray. Yogesh Joshi reports.

Himani Savarkar, who made headlines when she openly supported the Malegaon blast accused, has decided to enter the poll fray.

HT Image

Daughter-in-law of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (Veer Savarkar) and daughter of Gopal Godse, brother of Nathuram Godse, Savarkar will contest the October 13 elections from Kothrud constituency under the banner of the Hindu Mahasabha.

Savarkar (62) had contested the 2004 polls from Kasba assembly constituency but had to give up her deposit after Bharatiya Janata Party’s Girish Bapat defeated her by a huge margin.

“The structure of Kothrud, post delimitation, favours me as many people know me there,” said Savarkar. According to Savarkar, some of the members of the Hindu Mahasabha or Abhinav Bharat, who are accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, may also decide to contest the polls. Savarkar’s intention to contest the election is to spread her father-in-law’s ideology.

According to a member of Mahasabha, who did not wish to be named, Savarkar’s campaign will be based on how the state government “framed” members of the Abhinav Bharat in the Malegaon conspiracy. The court recently dropped charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused, giving them major respite while causing embarrassment to the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government.

The other organisation, which supported the Malegaon accused, the Shiv Sena, will field a candidate against Savarkar.