New Delhi: Rajendra Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil was in the list of the 159 candidates announced by the Congress for Maharashtra Assembly polls on Wednesday night, which also carries names of sons of some senior leaders.
He is the second son in Indian history to be fighting elections whose parent is a sitting President.
The first one to do so 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. In the recent past, it will be however the first time that a son of a Constitutional head of the country will contest elections.
Shekhawat's mother current President Pratibha Patil and father have represented Amravati in the distant past as MP and MLA respectively.
Though several sons and daughters have been given tickets for the October 13 Assembly polls in rival parties' love for dynasties, the candidature of Shekhawat, who is making his electoral debut, has raised the most eyebrows.
Amravati seat is currently represented by four-time MLA and state Finance Minister Sunil Deskhmukh who has threatened to revolt if he is denied this constituency.
A decision is however pending on the seats in Latur and Sholapur districts from where Amit Deshmukh, son of Vilasrao Deshmukh and Praneti Shinde, daughter of Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde are aspirants.
Congress has been allotted 174 seats in the alliance with NCP out of the 288 seats for the October 13 election.
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and most of his cabinet colleagues from the party have been renominated except the Minister of State for Finance Sunil Deshmukh from whose Amravati Assembly seat Shekhawat has been given the ticket.
The present Member of Legislative Assembly and Minister Sunil Deshmukh seems in no mood to take things lying down. "I have full faith in the Congress leadership. Soniaji and Rahul Gandhi will do justice to me as my claim (to the seat) is legitimate and judicious," Deshmukh said amid reports that the Congress President has withheld the announcement of party nominees for Amravati, Latur and Solapur seats from where the kin of Congress' satraps are aspirants.
Meanwhile Deshmukh, a Minister of State for Finance in Maharastra rushed to Amaravati from Delhi and met his supporters. Asked if the minister would file his papers even if denied a Congress ticket, a close aide who did not want to be named said, "the last date for filing papers is September 25... we will see who the party nominates." Certain party leaders have already expressed fear that Deshmukh could turn a rebel if denied a party ticket.
Deshmukh has claimed that Rajendra Shekhawat has been a resident of Mumbai for over three decades and had even sought ticket from Worli Assembly constituency in the metropolis in 1999.
