Known as ‘confidence-keepers’, many PAs of heavyweight leaders lost the civic polls, which came as an embarrassment for the leaders as well.
The just-concluded BMC polls threw up many surprises. Many big trees were uprooted while many budding careers flowered. Known as ‘confidence-keepers’, many Personal Assistants (PAs) of heavyweight leaders lost the civic polls, which came as an embarrassment for the respective leaders as well.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar PA’s son Santosh Dhuwali tried his luck from ward no. 89 (Bandra). Dhuwali lost to Shiv Sena candidate Prakash alias Bala Sawant, who contested from the constituency, where Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray lives. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Arun Gujrathi, Jayant Patil, Supriya Sule were all campaigned for Dhuwali, but in vain. Sawant was the sitting corporator, and impressed voters with his groundwork.
Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s former PA Santosh Chavan contested from ward no. 82 (Santacruz), while senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s assistant Amit Satam contested from ward no. 63 (Juhu).
In ward number 82, Congress candidate Santosh Chavan lost to Sena candidate Baliram Ghag. Though both are new faces, Chavan’s high-profile connections failed to cut ice with voters. Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, his son Nitesh Rane, and other top Congress leaders campaigned for Chavan. Needless to add, the voters did not listen.
The loss of Amit Satam (ward number 63) can be attributed to infighting in the BJP. Party senior leader and former deputy mayor Arun Dev wanted a ticket from the ward, but the party refused. Dev turned rebel and filed nomination as an Independent.
However, he later withdrew the nomination. Making things worse, another BJP functionary Rajesh Mehta also threw his hat into the ring. But the party persisted with Satam and brought top leaders like Shatrugnan Sinha, Hema Malini, Poonam Mahajan, Vinod Tawde for campaigning. But voters decided otherwise. Independent candidate Adolph Desouza won. Satam did not even come second.
It is not that PAs can’t climb the ladder of success. Technical Education Minister Dilip Walse Patil was once a personal assistant of Sharad Pawar. Sunil Prabhu, leader of house, was the PA of former minister of state (home) Gajanan Kirtikar.
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