The Naiks of Vidarbha take pride in the fact that they have produced two chief ministers. The mantle of leadership in this Banjara family of Pusad seems to descend from uncle to nephew. Sudhakarrao Naik took over from his uncle, the legendary Vasantrao Naik, and is now grooming his nephew, Nilay, to be his political successor.Vasantrao was Chief Minister of Maharashtra for 11 years. It is believed that his long stint had a lot to do with the agitation for a separate state of Vidarbha led by the once-mercurial Jambuwantrao Dhote. Having a CM from Vidarbha helped the Congress in quelling the separatist uprising to an extent. Also, in a state where politics is completely dominated by Marathas, it was good for the party's image to have a non-Maratha at the top. More than the party, it helped Yashwantrao Chavan keep his Maratha party rivals at bay.Sudhakarrao took almost the same route to the top as his uncle, starting from the panchayat samiti and ending up as Chief Minister. He got his chance after Pawarmoved to Delhi when P.V.Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister. However, after the Babri Masjid demolition and the consequent bomb blasts in Mumbai, he had to step down to make way for Pawar once again.For a brief period, the deposed CM was accommodated as Governor of Himachal Pradesh. But in 1998, he bounced back into electoral politics and entered the Lok Sabha from the Washim seat.His uncle had always remained in state politics and now Sudhakarrao is all set to return there. He is contesting from the Pusad assembly seat which was occupied by his brother, Manoharrao. He's also sending out signals that being the only universally acceptable candidate in what promises to be a hung house, he's the obvious choice for the top slot again.In the Buldhana Lok Sabha constituency of western Vidarbha, it's Mukul Wasnik trying to keep the family flag aloft. In 1984, his father, Balkrishna Wasnik, bequeathed the Buldhana constituency to him and, at 25, he became the country's youngest parliamentarian.Educated ina missionary school in Nagpur, Mukul endeared himself to Rajiv Gandhi and became Minister for Youth Affairs. Since 1984, he has lost and won the Buldhana seat alternately in successive elections. He won in 1998 and is in the fray again.The former president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) and a close associate of Sonia Gandhi, Prabha Rau, is finding it tough to impose her nephew on Wardha's Congressmen. A three-time MLA, Rau is now trying her luck in the Lok Sabha election. She has handed down her assembly constituency, Pulgaon, to her sister's son and heir-apparent Ranjit Kamble.No sooner was the Congress nomination given to Kamble than two of Rau's most trusted associates in the party revolted. They're both contesting against Kamble.- Moiz Mannan Haque
