The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to field senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam from the Mumbai North-Central seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, according to reports in Marathi media. With ambitious plan to cross 400 out of 543 seats in the general assembly polls, the latest development – if true – follows the BJP's tactic to field new faces instead of repeating the existing ones.
The party has been paying close attention to the Mumbai North-Central Lok Sabha constituency, where Poonam Mahajan has been a significant figure for the past two terms. However, the BJP is yet to confirm her candidacy and, according to Marathi daily Maharashtra Times, Mahajan's performance has been an issue in the party. To overcome this, the party is considering fielding Nikam in a bid to strengthen its position in Mumabi North-Central, which it has controlled for the past 10 years but saw a decrease in their vote share in 2019.
Polling in Mumbai North-Central is slated for May 20.
Who is Ujjwal Nikam?
Nikam is a well-known senior lawyer known for handling sensitive cases including the 26/11 attacks and 20026 Khairlanji massacre. Nikam's role as the special public prosecutor in the trial of the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks garnered significant attention. He played an important role in securing the conviction of terrorist Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist, who was executed in 2012.
The lawyer was also played a vital role in prosecuting those responsible for the 1993 Bombay bombings. His work led to led to the conviction of several key conspirators, including Yakub Memon, one of the masterminds behind the attacks.
Apart from terrorism-related cases, Nikam has been involved in prosecuting numerous serial killers, hardened criminals and individuals accused of grave offences. His notable cases include the prosecution of the Pune serial bomb blast case and the sensational BMW hit-and-run case.
