The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday denied ticket to its Mumbai North Central MP Poonam Mahajan and instead picked prominent lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who was the special public prosecutor in Mumbai terror attack and 1993 serial blasts cases, as its nominee against Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad.
Nikam acquired a celebrity status when a hundred accused were convicted in the Mumbai blasts case while the 26/11 terror attack trial culminated in the hanging of Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive by the police.
In his first reaction, Nikam said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues must be credited for India's elevated global status.
Speaking to reporters, Nikam said the law is the key support for the poor and weak. "With this view, I joined BJP as I feel the security and sovereignty of the country should remain unaffected".
Gaikwad heads the Mumbai Congress unit and is the incumbent MLA from Dharavi constituency.
She said her fight is not against any candidate but it is an ideological fight.
Mahajan, the daughter of late BJP stalwart Pramod Mahajan, was elected from Mumbai North Central in the 2014 and 2019 elections when BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided) were in alliance.
She is also a former president of the BJP's youth wing.
Voting in Mumbai is scheduled to be held on May 20 in the fifth phase of the general elections.
Born in North Maharashtra's Jalgaon, he started practicing as a lawyer in 1979, but shot to fame for the first time when he was appointed as special public prosecutor in the 1993 serial blasts case.
The case reached its conclusion more than a decade later and a hundred accused were convicted while 23 others were acquitted.
Nikam, who would appear before TV cameras after each day's hearing and speak about the developments in the trial, became famous across the country during this period.
The Maharashtra government subsequently appointed him as special prosecutor in some of the most attention-grabbing cases.
He represented the state in the trial of Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist arrested during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the Gulshan Kumar murder case and Shakti Mills gangrape case, among others.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.
It was long being speculated that Nikam, known to be media-savvy, might enter politics.
Meanwhile, Nikam said he would speak to Poonam Mahajan as he has known her since the days of the Pramod Mahajan (murder) trial. "I used to meet her that time, I know her," he added.
Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency includes six assembly segments Vile Parle, Chandivali, Kurla, Kalina, Bandra East and Bandra West.
The BJP represents two of the six segments, the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde two, and Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress one each.
Speaking on his poll strategy, Nikam said he never underestimated his rivals in the courtroom and will neither do so in the poll arena.
"Varsha Gaikwad is a seasoned politician," he added.
In the court, Nikam is known for arguments replete with histrionics and one-liners. He is hardly ever boring, and lightens the atmosphere by punctuating serious arguments with humour. It will have to be seen whether he can win the argument in the people's court.
