Ujjwal Nikam Profile: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced ace lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as its candidate from Mumbai North Central. This constituency has been represented by Poonam Mahajan for two consecutive terms. However, the BJP has decided to replace her with Ujjwal Nikam as its candidate.
- Ujjwal Nikam, one of the country's prominent lawyers, whom the BJP has expressed confidence in, was born into a Marathi family in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. His father was a judge and a barrister.
- He obtained his law degree from S.S. Maniyar Law College in Jalgaon.
- Throughout his illustrious career, Nikam has handled several high-profile cases. Nikam has been involved in numerous significant cases, including the 1993 Mumbai blasts, the Gulshan Kumar murder case, the Pramod Mahajan murder case, the Marine Drive rape case, and the 26/11 terror attacks, where he represented the government.
He gained widespread attention during the trial of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, securing convictions for 628 defendants and death sentences for 37 others, according to media reports.
- Additionally, he represented the Indian government at a global conference on terrorism held in New York in 2010.
- In recognition of his contributions, Ujjwal Nikam was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honours, by the government in 2016.
Ujjwal Nikam On His Nomination From Mumbai North Central Seat As BJP Candidate
Ujjwal Nikam termed his nomination a "pleasant surprise" as he told news agency ANI, "Indeed it is a very pleasant and surprising moment for me. I was practicing against criminals, now God has given me the second inning in the new temple of democracy, i,e., the Parliament..."
"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..." he added.
Adressing a press conference, he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekar Bawankule, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar.
"I know that politics is not for me but through you, I would like to tell everyone that the country's Constitution, laws and security would be my priorities...The constituency from where I have been told to contest is a very important constituency of Mumbai. This has been represented by late Manohar Joshi, Ramdas Athawale and Poonam Mahajan. These people have always raised questions in Parliament in the national interest," he remarked, as quoted by ANI.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party has nominated Varsha Gaikwad as its candidate from the Mumbai North Central constituency. Poonam Mahajan became a Member of Parliament from this seat after defeating Priya Dutt of the Congress party in the 2014 and 2019 elections.