This story is from March 24, 2019

No chance for young blood? Shiv Sena has bet on ageing war horses, say analysts

No chance for young blood? Shiv Sena has bet on ageing war horses, say analysts
Picture used for representational purpose only
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to field 17 sitting MPs for the Lok Sabha elections means a lost opportunity for the party to shed the flab and reach out to the next generation, said political analysts. Renominations for leaders like Chandrakant Khaire, Bhavna Gawli, Anandrao Adsul and Union minister Anant Gite for the Lok Sabha elections reflect the Shiv Sena’s conservative mindset, they added.
The Sena on Friday announced candidates for 21 out of the 23 Lok Sabha seats it will contest in Maharashtra.
The remaining 25 seats have gone to the Sena’s senior ally, the BJP.
Both Khaire and Adsul have had four Lok Sabha terms--from Aurangabad and Amravati-Buldhana, respectively. Gavli is contesting from Buldana-Washim for the fifth term, while Gite is contesting for the seventh term from Ratnagiri.
It is learnt that the state BJP had urged the Sena to introduce new faces in the list. “We had told the Sena that anti-incumbency can affect not just the government, but a candidate too. Especially after four or five terms. However, the Sena thought it proper to play safe,” said a BJP functionary.
Senior Sena functionary Anil Desai, MP, scotched the talk of veterans being an albatross around the party’s neck. “In fact, the party will profit by the parliamentary experience of, say, Khaire, Gite and Gawli. Seniority matters in the Lok Sabha election and our seniors have done a fine job as MPs for more than four terms,” Desai said. “Uddhavji had two criteria while finalising the candidates—performance on the floor of the House and connectivity with voters,” he added.

Describing the list as a “well-balanced” one, Desai said that Thackeray weighed the “pros and cons” and consulted grassroot Sena workers from each constituency before finalising the nominees.
However, more than experience, the ability to raise resources apparently tipped the scale in favour of the ageing war horses. “A four-time MP can raise election funds and also work out the political calculations at the taluka level,” said a Sena legislator. A newcomer may not have extensive networking in the constituency as against the Lok Sabha repeaters, he added.
Desai cited Dhairyasheel Mane, Om Raje Nimbalkar and Shrikant Shinde as the Shiv Sena’s “young blood” In the Lok Sabha poll fray, while Mane (he will contest from Hatkanangale) and Nimbalkar (Osmanabad) are first-timers, Shinde has been repeated from Kalyan constituency. Nimbalkar is a former MLA.
A source said that Matoshree did try to find a re-placement for Gajanan Kirtikar, the party MP from Mumbai North-West. But neither Sunil Prabhu, Sena MLA, nor minister Ravindra Waikar were eager to step into the Kolhapuri chappals of the 74-year old trade unionist.
Amol, Kirtikar’s son, was seen as too soft-spoken to take on Sanjay Nirupam who may contest from Mumbai North-West as the Congress nominee. “So, we fielded Gajananrao for a second term,” said the strategist.
Poll hustle bustle apart, an MP’s ability to raise issues of national significance is what matters to voters, said publisher and political analyst Vikas Paranjpe. “However, presentday MPs function like corporators or zilla parishad members, he added. “Today, MPs from Maharashtra, irrespective of party affiliations, keep mum during crucial debates on national issues. None of them can be described as Parliamentarians.”
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