A byelection should have lifted the Sena’s spirits, but Dutt’s legacy and the party’s own paucity of men and ideas have given Priya a clear headstart. It doesn’t help that the Sena considers the result a foregone conclusion, perhaps why no one wants to be the fall guy in the contest. The Sena is also concentrating its efforts and resources in the Malvan assembly byelection with the one-point agenda of defeating Narayan Rane, former poster boy who defected to the Congress and continues to torment his former boss.
Alliance partner BJP, though, is not too pleased with the idea of allowing Priya to win unopposed. "If the Sena can’t find a candidate or doesn’t want to contest, they should allow us to put up our candidate. It’s a winnable seat," says state general secretary Vinod Tawde. The BJP believes the flood relief bungles and the general anti-Congress mood gives them a fighting chance. Incidentally, the worst-affected Kalina area falls in this constituency, so does Thackeray’s residence. Priya is conscious of the battle. "Nothing is a cakewalk," she says, "I don’t take the opposition for granted." Priya might well want to keep an eye on her partymen too. She’s still continuing with the defamation case against Nirupam filed by her father last year. And Nirupam is still unwilling to apologise for abusing Dutt.
