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Sena says Seshan no vote-catcher in rural areas; no ticket for ex-CEC

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay

The Shiv Sena today declared it will not field former chief election commissioner T N Seshan in the general election.

Announcing this at a press conference in the city on Tuesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi said, "We found that Seshan has little appeal among the rural masses. So we decided not to field him from either Washim or Khed."

Today's announcement has thus ended the suspense over the former CEC contesting the forthcoming election, which began a month ago with the Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray announcing that Seshan will be fielded by his party.

Joshi also announced the Sena has fielded Dr Gyaneshwar Shevale from Washim, and Nana Balkawde from Khed.

Interestingly, the sitting Sena MP from Washim, Pandurang Pundlik, has been denied a ticket, as well as the losing Sena candidate from Khed the last time round, Bankhele Kisanrao Baburao.

Washim and Khed were the last two constituencies in Maharashtra from where the Sena had not announced its candidates. Earlier, there was speculation that the Sena may field Seshan from Ahmednagar, but that ended with former Congress MP Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, getting the Sena's nod.

Asked why Seshan was not fielded from any of the 136 seats that the Sena is contesting across the country, Joshi merely said, "Maybe in the next election we will consider him."

Asked if the party was underestimating the popularity of a candidate who was in fact supported by the Sena in his quest for Rashtrapati Bhavan, Joshi merely said, "The party did not find him suitable for parliamentary elections in rural areas."

Asked if he would join the central government as minister if the BJP formed the next government, Joshi said, "There is no question of my leaving the state for another five years." He also dismissed the speculation that Thackeray wanted to get rid of him by sending him to Delhi if the BJP came to power.

Joshi also clarified that he will not campaign for his former deputy secretary, Avinash Dharmadhikari, who is contesting the election as an independent against the Sena-BJP backed Suresh Kalmadi from Pune. "He was a good officer. But I won't go against my party's principle," he said.

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