34% candidates fielded by major parties in Maharashtra are political dynasts

“Dynast” is defined as any candidate or MP having a relative who in the past or in the present has served or serves an elective mandate, at any level of representation. It also includes candidates with relatives who serve or have served prominent positions in party organisations.

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP has the highest proportion of dynasts at 50 per cent, with two of its four candidates having a political legacy. The NCP is followed by the BJP, its ally, at 43 per cent, with 12 of its 28 candidates being dynasts. Forty per cent of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s candidates, six out of 15, have a political legacy.

On the Opposition side, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has 30 per cent of its candidates with a political background (three out of 10), followed by the Congress at 29 per cent (five out of 17) and the Shiv Sena (UBT), 19 per cent of whose candidates (four out of 21) have a political legacy.

A global reality

Political dynasties are a global reality and a common feature in most of the world’s democracies.

Arguments in favour of such dynasties range from stating that such dynasties raise efficiency and also tend to create a degree of cohesiveness among legislators, which could improve efficiency of functioning. Hereditary politicians also argue that unlike other legacy professions such as law, medicine or the running of businesses, they have to submit themselves to the electoral test every five years.

The case against it is that it does not allow outsiders in easily and leads to the concentration of political power in a few families and to corruption. Globally, however, there is no empirically proven study that hereditary politics leads to bad politics.

The main reason why political parties field dynasts is that they want to maximise their chances at winning seats as more often than not, being a dynast remains by and large more an asset than a liability.

Political legacies also play a key role in choosing female candidates, with parties selecting woman candidates who are from political families. Of the 17 women fielded by the major political parties, 14 are hereditary politicians.

Congress: 5 out of 17 (29 %)

Constituency	Name	Guardian
Chandrapur	Pratibha Suresh Dhanorkar	Wife of late MP Suresh Dhanorkar
Solapur	Praniti Shinde	Daughter of former MP Sushilkumar Shinde
Kolhapur	Shahu Maharaj	Influential family having sent reps to the Assembly
Nandurbar	Gowal Padvi	Son of MLA K C Padvi
Mumbai North Central	Varsha Gaikwad	Daughter of late Congress MP Eknath Gaikwad

BJP: 12 out of 28 (43%)

Constituency	Name	Guardian
Akola	Anup Dhotre	Son of sitting MP Sanjay Dhotre
Amravati	Navneet Rana	Wife of MLA Ravi Rana
Madha	Ranjit Singh Naik Nimbalkar	Son of former MP Hindurao Nimbalkar
Nandurbar	Dr Heena Gavit	Father: Dr Vijay Kumar Gavit former Maharashtra minister
Jalgaon	Smita Wagh	Wife of late BJP leader Uday Wagh
Raver	Raksha Khadse	Daughter-in- law of Eknath Khadse, former Maharashtra minister
Ahmednagar	Sujay Vikhe Patil	Son of BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil
Beed	Pankaja Munde	Daughter of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde
Dhule	Dr Subhash Bhamre	Mother: Late Gojartai Bhamre, former MLA
Dindori	Dr Bharti Pawar	Daughter of ex-MLA late A T Pawar
Mumbai North	Piyush Goyal	Son of late BJP leader Ved Prakash Goyal
Satara	Udayanraje Bhosale	Hails from the politically influential Bhosale clan

NCP (SP): 3 out of 10 (30 %)

Constituency	Name	Guardian
Wardha	Amar Kale	Nephew of NCP MLA Anil Deshmukh
Baramati	Supriya Sule	Daughter of Sharad Pawar
Madha	Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil	Nephew of former DyCM Vijaysinh Mohite Patil

Shiv Sena: 6 out of 15 (40%) 

Constituency	Name	Guardian
Yavatmal-Washim	Rajshri Patil	Wife of Shiv Sena MP Hemant Patil
Kolhapur	Sanjay Mandlik	Son of late former MP Sadashiv Mandlik
Hatkananagle	Dhairyasheel Mane	Son of former MP Nivedita Mane
Kalyan	Shrikant Shinde	Son of Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde
Mumbai South	Yamini Jadhav	Wife of Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav
Nashik	Hemant Godse	Nephew of late Rajabhau Godse, former MP

NCP: 2 out of 4 (50 %)

Shiv Sena (UBT): 4 out of 21 (19%)