Dynasty politics grips BJYM’s new committee

Mumbai: The list of Bharatiya Janata Party Mumbai youth wing’s (BJYM) new committee has around half a dozen office bearers who are kin of the some or the other established politicians. Harsh Mehta, who is the son of state’s housing minister Prakash Mehta, has been named as general secretary of BJP’s youth wing.

Similarly, in the list also includes the name of Rohan Rathod, who is the brother-in-law of Ameet Satam, an MLA from Andheri. There are several other names of politicians’ relatives in the list including Sheetal Gambhir who is a kin of newly joined BJP leader Suresh Gambhir.

This has upset the old-timers in the party; there are many leaders who claim that the youth wing during the civic body elections had declared a list of its own candidates and sought seats and now a list of office bearers who are from political families has emerged.

“Is this how we are going to go ahead in the BJP? Accommodating children of already established leaders, aren’t we imitating the Congress, then how different are we from them,” said a BJP leader.

However, when asked about the growing clout of the dynasty, Mumbai BJP’s Youth Wing president Mohit Kamboj, he said, “Only one leader’s son is accommodated in the list.” He claimed that the children of politicians have worked their way up and hence they are being given a chance.   

In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the BJP gave tickets to politicians’ children like Akash Raj Purohit, who is MLA Raj Purohit’s son, and even Neel Somaiya was given a ticket, the son of Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya.