A clear fissure emerged in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Wednesday with senior Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam making a frontal attack on the Shiv Sena (UBT). He is furious that the saffron party peremptorily declared its list of 16 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. He is in particular sore that the Sena has staked its claim to Mumbai north-west seat by announcing the candidature of Amol Kirtikar, son of sitting M.P. Gajanan Kirtikar.
Nirupam told the FPJ on Wednesday that the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray was out to finish him politically. He was sent to the Rajya Sabha by Bal Thackeray in 1996 when the Shiv Sena was united. He had two terms in the upper house, but quit the party to join the Congress in 2005.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls he won from Mumbai north where he defeated BJP veteran Ram Naik, but lost in 2014 to Gopal Shetty (BJP) by 3.8 lakh votes. In 2019 he lost to Gajanan Kirtikar by a margin of over 2.60 lakh votes in Mumbai north-west. Nirupam was extremely keen on contesting again from Mumbai north-west to avenge his defeat of 2019.
Sanjay Plans Next Move After Shiv Sena's LS Candidate Selection
Nirupam said Uddhav Thackeray has given the ticket to Amol Kirtikar who is ``involved" in the kichdi scam. Amol has already been summoned by the ED. Nirupam said it was shocking that the Shiv Sena (UBT) has given ticket to a man who made money during the covid pandemic. Calling Amol a ``kichdi chor" Nirupam said Congress workers will not campaign for him.
Asked about his next step, Nirupam said he will take a decision in the next one week. It is learnt that both the BJP and the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde have sent feelers to him.
Sanjay Nirupam's Political Journey
Nirupam came to the city from Bihar in the '90s and joined a Hindi daily. After that he joined the ``Dopahar ka Saamna", the Hindi mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena which the party used to win over Uttar Bharatiya voters. Thackeray Sr was impressed by the hardline Hindutva line adopted by Nirupam and got him elected to the Rajya Sabha, much to the chagrin of Sanjay Raut, who was editing the Marathi ``Saamna." But later Raut himself was pitchforked to the upper house.
