MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which was dropped two-term incumbent and sitting member of parliament Poonam Mahajan as its candidate from Maharashtra’s Mumbai North Central and named senior lawyer and well-known senior public prosecutor Ujjwal Deorao Nikam as its candidate. Nigam will face Congress Party’s city unit chief and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad. 

According to party sources, the BJP was waiting for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to declare its candidate before making its move, and on Friday as the MVA proposed Gaikwad's candidature, BJP announced Nikam as its candidate from the Lok Sabha seat. 

Talking about his candidature, Nikam said, "A new life is going to start for me which is political life. Till now I used to fight for justice in the court... I think Parliament is the only way through which we can serve the common man." On his political career, he further said, "I don’t consider politics a fight. Social service can be done through politics. Service to the nation can also be done through politics. I will adopt this new funda. I have received the opportunity to serve the nation, through politics. So, I consider myself fortunate."

With the announcement of Nigam's candidature, the BJP has essentially replaced all of its sitting MPs from Mumbai for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which apart from Mahajan includes  Manoj Kotak from Mumbai North-East and veteran leader Gopal Shetty from Mumbai North. 

Nikam son of Deoraoji Nikam who was a judge and barrister, has appeared for the government in dozens of high-profile cases ranging from the Gulshan Kumar murder case to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case that left more than 160 people dead. He was successful in securing the conviction of Ajmal Kasab, the only attacker captured alive by the police and was sentenced to death on 6 May 2010 and hanged on 21 November 2012. 

Incidentally, he was also associated with the murder case of Poonam’s father and BJP leader Pramod Mahajan who was shot by his younger brother, Pravin Mahajan, after a family dispute on 22 April 2006 which got Pravin sentenced to life in prison in December 2007. His son, Aniket, is also a criminal lawyer in High Court Mumbai.