Maharashtra MLC Polls: BJP’s Arun Lakhani in spotlight over Sharad Pawar kin marital ties

NAGPUR: When the BJP named Arun Lakhani as its candidate for Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli MLC seat, it triggered a buzz on social media due to his close family ties with NCP (Sharad Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar.

Lakhani's son, Sarang, is engaged to Revati Sule, daughter of NCP working national president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule, who is also Sharad Pawar's daughter.

It's the opposite political ideology between the two families, which set social media abuzz with people asking why BJP picked Lakhani. But Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents avoided taking on Lakhani on Monday, with Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut saying the former is an "RSS guy".

Raut said, "An RSS man getting a BJP ticket should surprise no one. Lakhani is not someone who came from Congress or Sharad Pawar's NCP. He is a born RSS man. He is among the original figures of the Sangh in Vidarbha and has been a supporter and functionary all his life. On the ideological contradiction between the families, Raut said the differences were "100% and extreme" but the personal relationship between two families was their private matter. "BJP gave the ticket. Ask BJP," he said.

In Nagpur, when reporters asked about BJP's candidature for Lakhani, Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said, "What is Congress's connection here? BJP gave the ticket. Go and ask BJP if it took instructions from Pawar, why should I answer it." BJP's tendency to rely on industrialists for MLC seats ignoring grassroots workers is now an established pattern, he added.