New Delhi:
It's a decision that's been criticized for breach of propriety. The Congress has declared that the son of the President of India will be the party's candidate from Amravati in Maharashtra. The state votes next month.
Speaking to NDTV, Rajendra Shekhawat says he doesn't understand what the fuss is about. For 10 years, he says, he has worked hard for his party, and has every right to stand for elections.
Not according to the current MLA from Amravati, Sunil Deshmukh, who has won the constituency twice for the Congress. Deshmukh, who has also served as a Congress minister, has revolted and announced he will now contest as an independent candidate from Amravati.
An SMS now doing the rounds says "kyonki uss ke paas ma hai" (he has the support of his mother) - part of Deshmukh's campaign alleging that Shekhawat's powerful mother, Pratibha Patil, swung the decision in his favour. A charge denied by Ashok Chavan, the chief minister of Mahrashtra. Chavan tells NDTV that the president's son has proved his merit.
That's tough to accept for some. Shekhawat is seen as a novice with no claim to Amravati other than this: in the past, his mother represented the area as a Member of Parliament, and his father was elected to the state assembly from the same constituency.
This is the second time in India's history that a president's child will contest elections. The first was V Shankar Giri, son of President V V Giri, who fought and won on a Congress ticket from Madhya Pradesh in the early 70s.
Asked if it's fair to drag his mother's office, an apoliticial position, into a controversy, Shekhawat says, "Every son needs a mother's blessing".
The Congress has now released the list of candidates for 159 of the 174 seats it will contest as part of its alliance in Maharashtra with Sharad Pawar's NCP. Decisions on the children of two senior leaders have yet to be taken: the son of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, and the daughter of former chief minister Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, both want to contest the state election.
Speaking to NDTV, Rajendra Shekhawat says he doesn't understand what the fuss is about. For 10 years, he says, he has worked hard for his party, and has every right to stand for elections.
Not according to the current MLA from Amravati, Sunil Deshmukh, who has won the constituency twice for the Congress. Deshmukh, who has also served as a Congress minister, has revolted and announced he will now contest as an independent candidate from Amravati.
An SMS now doing the rounds says "kyonki uss ke paas ma hai" (he has the support of his mother) - part of Deshmukh's campaign alleging that Shekhawat's powerful mother, Pratibha Patil, swung the decision in his favour. A charge denied by Ashok Chavan, the chief minister of Mahrashtra. Chavan tells NDTV that the president's son has proved his merit.
That's tough to accept for some. Shekhawat is seen as a novice with no claim to Amravati other than this: in the past, his mother represented the area as a Member of Parliament, and his father was elected to the state assembly from the same constituency.
This is the second time in India's history that a president's child will contest elections. The first was V Shankar Giri, son of President V V Giri, who fought and won on a Congress ticket from Madhya Pradesh in the early 70s.
Asked if it's fair to drag his mother's office, an apoliticial position, into a controversy, Shekhawat says, "Every son needs a mother's blessing".
The Congress has now released the list of candidates for 159 of the 174 seats it will contest as part of its alliance in Maharashtra with Sharad Pawar's NCP. Decisions on the children of two senior leaders have yet to be taken: the son of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, and the daughter of former chief minister Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, both want to contest the state election.
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