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North by North-West: Nirupam gives Chhath political spin

For the second time after he left Shiv Sena to join the Congress, the firebrand leader will flex his political muscles, at the Chhath Puja festival at Juhu.

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For the second time after he left Shiv Sena to join the Congress, firebrand leader Sanjay Nirupam, now a spokesman for the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, will flex his political muscles, at a religious function.

The occasion is the Chhath Puja festival for which over five lakh north Indians will congregate at Juhu Beach on Monday (November 07). ‘Chhath’ Puja is celebrated exactly six days after Diwali every year.

This year, the festival assumes immense political significance in view of the forthcoming November 19 Lok Sabha by-election. Juhu falls in the constituency where the Congress  candidate Priya Dutt is pitted against the Sena’s reluctant and ageing contestant Madhukar Sarpotdar.

According due importance, the fest will be graced by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, MPCC president Prabha Rau, Bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari and Bollywood personalities Sonu Nigam and Rajpal Yadav. Last year, there was a sea of humanity on Juhu Beach when Amitabh Bachchan was the chief guest.

Interestingly, this will be Nirupam’s second effort to show the immense clout he enjoys among the estimated 40 lakh north-

Indians in Mumbai. In July, he had organised the Uttar Bharatiya Sabha which garnered massive support.

A worried Priya Dutt, apprehending a change of mind by the party bosses had rushed to consolidate her position and seek a reassurance from MRCC president Gurudas Kamat.

Three months down, at Priya’s insistence, Nirupam will not campaign for her for the ensuing elections.

“Now that I am with Congress, only the festival banner will change, not the flavour,” Nirupam told DNA on Saturday. Organising Chhath Puja on such a grand scale was Nirupam’s brainchild when he introduced it in Mumbai eight years ago as a Sena MP. Intended as a north-Indian reply to big local fests like Ganeshutsav (Maharashtrians), Navratri (Gujaratis), Durga Puja (Bengalis) and other mega-events by various smaller communities, it proved to be an instant success.

It also somewhat helped the Sena shed its conservative ‘Marathi manoos’ image and afforded it a more to reach out to other communities. It also led to others imitating the effort. This year, there are at least four different such pujas at Juhu being held under various banners. Sena has refused to organise one, further alienating one of its potential vote-banks.

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