Playing Third Innings

Shiv Sena under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has fielded former MP, former Editor Sanjay Nirupam from Dindoshi assembly constituency. A seasoned journalist, he had begun his political journey as a strong voice and a North Indian face for Shiv Sena about three decades ago. It appears as if he has been entrusted with the same task yet again.

Born on February 6, 1965, in Rohtas, Bihar, Nirupam began his career in journalism in 1986 and used to edit Sabrang, a weekly magazine of the Express group. The Shiv Sena felt a need to spread among Hindi population of the city during Ayodhya agitation and the party came up with an idea of Hindi version of its Marathai mouthpiece Saamana. Nirupam was chosen as the editor of the magazine, but was entrusted with responsibilities in the party far beyond the scope of an editor.

He was asked not only to build support for Shiv Sena among the north Indian residents of Mumbai but also to establish organizational networks in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He initiated a weekly feature in the tabloid titled “Khula Manch,” where Bal Thackeray answered questions from Hindi-speaking readers. Through his answers, Thackeray conveyed that Shiv Sena was not just a party of Maharashtrians but of all Hindus, irrespective of their language. Nirupam was made the “Sampark Pramukh” (Contact Chief) of Shiv Sena for the north Indian states. In 1996, Nirupam organized the “Uttar Bharteeya Mahasammelan,” a gathering of north Indians addressed by Bal Thackeray. With his sharp and aggressive editorials and political acumen, Nirupam proved himself to be the person Shiv Sena was looking for.

As a politician, Nirupam’s career skyrocketed within the Shiv Sena. His nomination for the Rajya Sabha shocked everyone in the political corridors. Even Sanjay Raut, who had joined eight months earlier in July 1992, was not considered for the Rajya Sabha. As a parliamentarian, Nirupam aggressively represented his party and even stirred controversy within the BJP, Shiv Sena’s alliance partner, by making several allegations against Pramod Mahajan and criticizing him in the Hindi Saamna. Nirupam had the tacit support of Bal Thackeray, who pretended to reprimand him in front of Mahajan when he rushed to Matosri lamenting about Nirupam. Thackeray appointed him as one of the “Upnetas,” the top strata of the party after the supremo.

However, with the meteoric rise within Shiv Sena, Nirupam had made several enemies for himself within the party and he had to quit the party. He then joined the Congress and was elected to the Lok Sabha, representing the Mumbai North constituency from 2009 to 2014. However, his prime role – to gather the North Indians in Mumbai around the party - didn’t change.