Dilip Kumar, Apte, Gavai nominated for RS polls

Dilip Kumar had played a very crucial role during the last simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assembly. In fact, he was mainly responsible to halt the victory march of the Nationalist Congress Party in Western Maharashtra as well as the Marathwada regions. During the campaign period, despite his ill-health, Dilip Kumar had addressed a record number of election rallies in both regions.

During the Sena-BJP rule, Dilip Kumar was the main target. Sena workers had staged massive demonstrations before his residence to demand that he should return the Nishan-E-Pakistan award in protest against anti-India attitude of that country. Subsequently, Dilip Kumar had personally called on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to seek protection. Since then, Dilip Kumar has been granted Z security cover.

The candidature of Gavai has surprised top Congress leaders in the State, since party had taken a policy decision not to nominate a defeated candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections. In fact due to such a decision, Mumbai Congress President Murli Deora and former Union minister A R Antulay were not considered for party nomination.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, Gavai lost the Amravati parliamentary seat to a Shiv Sena nominee by a huge margin in a triangular contest. Then Gavai was supported by the Congress.

Apte’s nomination is also a surprise for the BJP leaders. Apte was a President of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad a few years ago and during the Sena-BJP rule, he was Additional Advocate General. In the race were Pandurang Phundkar and Ram Kapse.

Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani, sitting MP Sanjay Nirupam, NCP’s Praful Patel have already filed their nomination papers. A leading industrialist is also likely to enter the fray. If he does not file his nomination papers, then Jethmalani, Gavai, Patel, Nirupam, Dilip Kumar and Apte will be unanimously elected.

Meanwhile, MRCC president Murli Deora has welcomed AICC President Sonia Gandhi’s decision to nominate Dilip Kumar. “It is really hard for the Congress president, particularly when there are a large number of deserving aspirants against relatively fewer number of Rajya Sabha seats available,” Deora said in a statement.

The veteran film star, in view of his real secular nature, will make an excellent addition to the Upper House, Deora said, adding, that he himself did not get the nomination did not disappoint or deter him the least as the policy adopted by the party had to be accepted in the highest interest of the party.