While the decision has raised eyebrows,those in the know are not surprised at Ajay Sancheti,45,getting a Rajya Sabha nomination from the BJP for a seat vacated by Bal Apte.
Apart from the fact that he owns the big construction company SMS Infrastructure Ltd,Sancheti comes from a family with close links to the RSS-BJP for three generations,is believed to have played a key role in the formation of the Arjun Munda government in Jharkhand and is known to be a confidant of BJP president Nitin Gadkari. That questions were raised about his driver figuring among the list of owners of houses in the scam-ridden Adarsh Society proved to be a minor irritant.
Given Sanchetis credentials,the other contenders for the Rajya Sabha nomination,Kirit Somayya and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe,had little chance,say sources. Besides,a senior BJP leader said,With Somayya and Sahasrabuddhe too being close to Gadkari,there was nothing like acrimony over Sanchetis selection. While Sahasrabuddhe was Gadkaris advisor,Somayya is also considered close to him. Somayya,who lost in the last Lok Sabha elections,may get a ticket in the 2014 general election.
What also went in Sanchetis favour was his good relationship with not just Gadkari but the BJP presidents bete noire Gopinath Munde. It was during Gadkaris term as public works minister in the Sena-BJP regime in Maharashtra that Sancheti and he grew close. Sanchetis SMS Infrastructure went from strength to strength in this period.
Soon after becoming party president,Gadkari had made Sancheti member of the BJPs national executive.
Sanchetis grandfather Madanlal was a contemporary and close associate of erstwhile Jan Sangh leaders Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and Sundarsinh Bhandari. Madanlal and his brother Kisanlal are credited with a strong foundation for BJP in west Vidarbha.
Kisanlal was jailed during the Emergency and was the BJP MLA from Malkapur in Buldana district from 1980 to 1985.
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