Sons and daughters of top leaders made a political debut tasting victory in the Maharashtra Assembly polls carrying forward dynastic politics with President Pratibha Patil's son Rajendra Singh alias Raosaheb Shekawat leading the pack.
Vying for a spot in the Sun, the victorious candidates from across the political spectrum won from the pocket boroughs of their family in the State.
From the Congress, the debutante candidates included Mr. Shekawat who beat Sunil Deshmukh, the party's rebel candidate, in Amravati. Mr. Deshmukh, who is also the State minister lost by about 5,600.
Union Minister and former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's son Amit and another Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's daughter Praniti also romped home as winners. Amit and Praniti won from their father's bastions in Latur and Solapur respectively.
Congresss ally NCP also had its share of children of top political leaders tasting success in their debut. They include Pankaj Bhujbal, son of Deputy Chief Minister and senior NCP leader Chagan Bhujbal. Pankaj won from Nandgaon constituency in Nashik.
The legacy trend in the opposition alliance also tasted some success when BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde's daughter Pankaja Palve won from Parli.
Incidentally, her Congress rival was Prof. T P Munde, a lecturer in the college where she studied.
But not all the candidates with a strong political lineage could push for a debut. The prominent losers were
Poonam Mahajan, niece of Munde and daughter of slain BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. Poonam was vanquished by Ram Kadam of MNS.
