The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded renowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam from the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat, replacing two-time MP Poonam Mahajan.
Nikam, who was special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases like the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the trial of Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught after the 26/11 attacks, will take on Congress's Mumbai unit chief and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad.
Nikam was the prosecutor in the murder case of Poonam’s father, Pramod Mahajan, who was shot dead by his brother Pravin in April 2006.
Poonam, a former president of the BJP's youth wing, had won the constituency in 2014 and 2019. In 2014, she defeated then sitting MP Priya Dutt, the daughter of late actor and Congress leader Sunil Dutt.
According to reports, the party dropped her based on organisational feedback.
Voting in Mumbai is scheduled to be held on May 20 in the fifth phase of the polls. Counting is on June 4.
Born on March 30, 1953 to lawyer Deorao Madhavrao Nikam and Vimaladevi, a well-known freedom fighter, Nikam completed his law degree from SS Maniyar Law College in Jalgaon.
Besides Mumbai blasts and Mahajan murder, Nikam handled several other high-profile cases, including the murder case of Bollywood producer and T series founder Gulshan Kumar in 1997.
In 2016, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award.
