The children behind the candidates

A media student at V G Vaze College,Mulund,he is still unsure of venturing into active politics. “Could be,” he says. “I have started liking politics but it all depends in my interests in the next few years of my life.”

Nirajan Davkhare,30,B Com,LLB
Son of Vasant Davkhare,NCP,Kalyan
Helping his father in the elections means learning the tricks of trade. Niranjan helped his father in earlier campaigns but this time his responsibilities have grown. His job involves pacifying dissidents who could hamper his father’s prospects and arranging small rallies in areas where his father is not around.

He is clear about his political ambitions. “Any person who is in politics would like to enter electoral politics and I don’t want to hide my desire,” says Nirajan,currently handling the NCP youth wing.

Vishakha Kulkarni,43,B Com,
diploma in journalism
Daughter of Ram Naik,BJP,Mumbai North

When her father was battling cancer,she handled his office fulltime. “Since one of the activists handling the office work fell ill,the office had become paralytic. This prompted me to help Baba fulltime,” she says. She currently juggles between her role as an office manager and a housewife. Elections are not new to Kulkarni,who was hardly eight when Naik was first elected an MLA from Borivali. “I started handling the office during my college days but it was not regular. During those days,my father used to pay me a rupee a day for work like typing letters.” Hashu Advani,BJP MLA from Chembur,fondly called her an operator for attending telephone calls.

She has decided not to enter politics. “I am just helping my father. More importantly,I have passed this phase of temptation; my father would not approve of me entering politics.”