Maha polls: In Nallasopara, it is ‘encounter specialist’ vs strongman

The battle for the Nallasopara seat, about 50km from Mumbai, in the Assembly polls is expected to be a close one, as former ‘encounter specialist’ cop Pradeep Sharma

The battle for the Nallasopara seat, about 50km from Mumbai, in the Assembly polls is expected to be a close one, as former ‘encounter specialist’ cop Pradeep Sharma will take on Hitendra Thakur, known as the strongman of the Vasai-Virar belt. Sharma who took voluntary retirement from Maharashtra police force six months before his service ended will contest on a Shiv Sena ticket.

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The former cop, who has camped in Nallasopara, says he has been sent by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to end the “terror” of Hitendra Thakur’s party, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) which controls civic bodies of Vasai and Virar belt. Nallasopara is part of this area. In the 2014 elections, the BVA won both the Assembly seats in this belt, Vasai and Nallasopara. This time, the BVA is likely to be part of the Congress-NCP led Opposition front.

As the campaign has gained momentum, the two sides are trading charges against each other. Thakur’s son Kshitij, the two-time MLA from the seat, has questioned the chequered past of the police officer, who was involved in a fake encounter case and even suspended from the service.

Sharma is confident of a landslide victory and does not consider the hold of the BVA in the region as a challenge. Sharma has been boasting of taking of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and now wants to free Nalasopara of Thakur’s clutches and develop a “naya (new) Nallasopara”.

“The people of Nallasopara are tired of them (Thakur family). They want an alternative to free them from their terror. There are a lot of issues in Nallasopara that the legislator has never taken up… it is worse than UP-Bihar. The BVA would support the ruling party and would rule the Vasai-Virar region. The people of Nallasopara did not have an option for all these years, now there is an alternative before them. Their ‘dadagiri’ will end,” said 58-year-old Sharma.

Sharma, who has 113 ‘encounters’ to his name, said the police service for over 30 years has helped him learn about fast disposal of issues. He is expected to file nomination on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the BVA is treading carefully to retain its stronghold in the area. The BVA is attempting to disrupt the campaign of the Sena by not announcing who will face Sharma on October 21. In a surprise move, on Tuesday Hitendra and Kshitij Thakur both filed nomination for the adjoining Vasai seat, which is currently held by Hitendra Thakur. “Yes, I have filed nomination from Vasai. I may file nomination from Nallasopara, and Hitendraji also might file. Let there be some confusion around it,” Kshitij said.

Kshitij dismissed the allegations of terrorising the people in the region.

“We are not in some remote region. If the people did not want us, they would not have voted for us. There is no booth-capturing. There is no dadagiri. He has no idea of the geography of Nallasopara and he wants to bring. This ‘want to end the terror’ is an election stunt that happens every five years; later they disappear. Such people should not be given importance,” he said.