In Maharashtra elections, hopes hinge on ‘kin’ and able

Over a 100 relatives of various senior politicians, cutting across party lines, are in the fray for the October 21 Assembly elections in Maharashtra amidst hopes that they will be able to swing the votes in favour of their respective parties.
Among the prominent ones are the able kin of six former Chief Ministers, three Deputy Chief Ministers, several ministers and other leading politicians. In some cases, close relatives are even pitted against each other.
The keith and kin hail from all parties — the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance and the Opposition Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine — in the battle for the 288 Assembly seats in the state.
Former state Congress chief Ranjit Deshmukh’s son Ashish Deshmukh, who quit the BJP to join the Congress, will be pitted against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the Nagpur South West seat.
The two sons of late Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh are also in the fray — Amit Deshmukh seeking re-election from Latur City while his younger brother Dhiraj is making his political debut from Latur Rural. Incidentally, their brother Riteish Deshmukh is an acclaimed actor and producer in Bollywood and Marathi cinema.
Then there is Congress’s Praniti Shinde, former Chief Minister and ex-Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s daughter, making a second bid from Solapur City Central.