Hussain Dalwai, a socialist-turned-Congressman, has been nominated by the party for the ensuing Rajya Sabha by-elections, as many likely contenders failed to get the party’s backing at the last minute.
Dalwai, who hails from the underdeveloped Konkan region of Maharashtra, is a vice-president of the party’s state unit. He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in June 2010 for a six-year term. The by-elections, slated for July 22, were necessitated after Prithviraj Chavan resigned from the Upper House following his appointment as the Maharashtra Chief Minister.
Congress insiders claimed Dalwai’s name was cleared by party president Sonia Gandhi, as the party was divided over nominating Shivraj Patil for his poor track record as the Union Home Minister. On the other hand, Chavan failed to get a nomination for his supporter, Rohidas Patil, a former state minister. Dalwai outnumbered other heavyweights like former state minister Anees Ahmad, former MP Uttamsinh Pawar and Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Anant Gadgil.
A senior Congress minister and a party executive member, who did not want to be identified, told Business Standard: “Dalwai’s name came in the last minute as a compromise candidate. Ahmad Patel, political secretary to the Congress president, had given Dalwai hints to be ready for the Rajya Sabha poll before a meeting on Saturday. A couple of names were discussed but there was no unanimity.
While Shivraj Patil was a front-runner, he lacked support of the state chief minister and other state leaders. Similarly, former chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development Y S P Thorat, though considered a possible candidate, did not get enough support. Congress general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, Mohan Prakash, played a crucial role in making the case of Dalwai.
The minister said that by choosing Dalwai, a Konkani Muslim from Ratnagiri district, the party had addressed the issue of nominating Muslims from the state in the Upper House ahead of the elections to 200 municipalities, 33 district councils and 22 municipal corporations, to be held in November this year and February next year.
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Dalwai would file his nomination in the presence of Chavan, his deputy Ajit Pawar, and a host of Congress and NCP leaders on Monday. He would get a term up to March 2014.
Dalwai was active in the Janata Dal since 1989, till he crossed over to the Samajwadi Party in 1995. Subsequently, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council but quit the Samajwadi party to join the Congress in 1998.
He was minister for over one and half years in the council of ministers headed by Vilasrao Deshmukh after the Congress-NCP alliance came to power in 1999.