Ujjwal Nikam – BJP
When Advocate Ujjwal Nikam was named the BJP candidate from Mumbai North-Central replacing two-time sitting MP Poonam Mahajan, it came as a surprise. Poonam is the daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan and niece of Gopinath Munde. An experienced lawyer, Nikam knows Poonam well as he was the prosecutor in the case that involved the killing of her father. Nikam is an experienced prosecutor – and has been the special public prosecutor in several cases like the March 12, 1993 serial blasts case, Khairlanji massacre, twin blasts of August 2003 at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar, the Kopardi rape-murder of a minor girl. He has guaranteed death penalties for more than 30 persons. The two of them whose death penalties were confirmed by the Supreme Court and hung to death are Yakub Memon, the first accused in the 1993 serial blasts case in Mumbai and Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the Pakistani fidayeen, who was part of the 10-member group that carried out the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. He also examined Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley via video-conferencing.
Varsha Gaikwad – Congress
When Prof Varsha Gaikwad was appointed the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) president, she had a bigger role cut out. She is a grassroots leader and it was clear that she would take everyone along and put an end to factionalism. A four-time MLA from Dharavi and former minister, she was keen to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai South-Central. However, things changed because of negotiations with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Matoshree aide Anil Desai was named. However, later Congress fielded her from Mumbai North-Central, which irked Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan. But now things are sorted out and she has hit the ground. A former teacher, she was a lecturer at the Siddharth College of Arts, Science and Commerce. She had been a minister in the erstwhile Democratic Front government and the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi dispensation and had handled portfolios such as Medical Education, Higher and Technical Education, Tourism, Special Assistance, Women and Child Development. She led from the front in Dharavi in combating the pandemic. Hailing from an Ambedkarite-Buddhist family, she is a grass-roots leader. Her father Eknath Gaikwad was a former MP and former Mumbai Congress president.
