Sons of many Maharashtra Congress leaders vying for assembly poll tickets

Sons of at least 12 Congress leaders apply for Maharashtra Assembly election tickets; with their fathers’ clout and resources, they are likely to bag them.

Despite talks of infusing fresh blood, will the Congress again give out tickets mainly to sons and relatives of established leaders? Looks like it, with sons of at least several bigwigs in the party applying for tickets for the Maharashtra Assembly polls.

File photo of Congress leader Baba Siddique (in blue jacket) (PTI File)

After the rout in the recent Lok Sabha elections, several top Congress leaders highlighted the need to infuse fresh blood in the party by fielding younger candidates. However, the definition of youngsters seems to be restricted to families of established leaders. Given their fathers’ influence, getting tickets will not be tough for these youngsters.

In Mumbai, sons of former ministers Kripashankar Singh and Baba Siddique are in the contest for tickets. Baba is eyeing Bandra East and Versova constituencies, one for his son Zeeshan, and the other for himself. He is reportedly unwilling to contest from his traditional seat of Bandra West, where he was defeated by BJP’s heavyweight leader and school education minister Ashish Shelar. Baba Sidique said, “My son has been active in Mumbai Youth Congress as district president and general secretary for last nine years and has won the internal elections with huge votes.”

Elsewhere in the state, Congress’s former state unit chief Manikrao Thakre’s son Rahul has applied for the Digras constituency. Another Vidarbha leader of the party and former union minister Vilas Muttemwar is lobbying for his son Vishal from Nagpur South constituency.

In Marathwada, the late chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s younger son Dheeraj has applied for a ticket from the Latur Rural constituency. His brother, Amit, represents the Latur City. Dheeraj, who is a district council member, has demanded a ticket against the party’s sitting MLA Tryambakrao Bhise, who is batting for the second term.

In Parbhani, former MLA Suresh Warpudkar’s son Sangram has applied for a ticket. Stalwart from cooperation sector in North Maharashtra, the late PK Anna Patil’s son too is vying for a ticket from Shahada constituency in Nandurbar. “We haven’t applied, but my son is keen on contesting from Kalina. I will not contest the election this time as I already have represented the constituency thrice. Narendra has been active in politics,” said Kripashankar Singh.

Party legislators Amit Deshmukh, Praniti Shinde, Satej Patil and Vishwajeet Kadam have established themselves in their respective constituencies over the past few years, after entering politics riding on the influence of their heavyweight fathers.