BJP drops Poonam Mahajan, fields 26/11 prosecutor in Mumbai North Central
THE BJP on Saturday named senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam for Mumbai North Central, replacing sitting MP Poonam Mahajan.
Nikam, a senior public prosecutor, was a government prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai attack and the murder case of BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, father of Poonam Mahajan.
Nikam, a Padma Shri awardee, will take on Congress's Varsha Gaikwad, a former state minister, in the May 20 Lok Sabha elections.
Responding to the announcement, Nikam said that as a lawyer, he has been working for the country and wishes to continue doing so through politics.
Nikam said that his decision to join politics was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, specifically the measures taken by him to ensure the safety and security of the nation.
"The image of the country on the global platform has been changed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The security of our country is important, and therefore I thought of contesting elections and entering politics by joining the BJP," Nikam said.
He added that his priorities will be the constitution and the laws of our country, and he will ensure that proper questions and topics are raised in parliament.
Nikam's legal career is also marked by other high-profile cases, including the Gulshan Kumar murder case, the 2013 Mumbai gang rape case, and the 2016 Kopardi rape and murder case, among others.
Senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam.
Poonam Mahajan won twice from the constituency, in 2014 and 2019. According to party leaders, she was replaced after receiving unfavourable organizational feedback.
There are six constituencies in Mumbai divided into two sections -- city and suburban. Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central come under the city division and Mumbai North Central, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North West and Mumbai North fall under the suburban division.
Voting in Mumbai's six constituencies, along with seven other seats, is scheduled to be held on May 20 in the fifth phase of the polls. The filing of nominations for these seats began on Friday and will end on May 3.
