For the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 37 candidates are dynasts
At a recent election rally in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again invoked the political lineage in the Congress and the NCP.
"There is NDA which is working for the country's development and on the other hand, there are Congress and NCP which are working for one family and that is affecting the progress of the country," PM Modi said in a rally in Latur.
But the numbers suggest no major party in Maharashtra is free from dynasty; if anything, dynasty has intensified.
Compared to 2014, there is a jump of nearly 50 per cent in political dynasts being given tickets in Maharashtra.
For the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 37 candidates are dynasts, which amounts to 77 per cent; last time, it was 52 per cent.
Of all the major four parties in the state, the NCP has given tickets to highest number of dynasts - 62 per cent. The BJP is next, with 40 per cent, followed by the Shiv Sena at 30 per cent. The Congress has the lowest, with 26 per cent dynasts.
Each of these parties defended fielding dynasts.
The NCP has in its ranks two members of the Pawar family, Supriya Sule and Parth Pawar.
"There are family members. But then I would say there is no party today which does not have family members. Look at BJP they have given tickets to our dynasty children," Supriya Sule told NDTV.
Gajanan Kirtikar, Shiv Sena's candidate from Mumbai Northwest, has now fielded his son as a secondary nominee from his seat.
Prominent BJP dynasts include Poonam Mahajan, Pritam Munde, Sujay Vikhe-Patil.
"Let me take my example. I am in politics after my father and it took me 13 years to reach here. This is not my father's constituency and I have worked hard. So I take this as a legacy name forward," said Poonam Mahajan.
Congress leader Milind Deora, son of Murli Deora, got his first ticket at 27, and is now fighting his fourth election, despite losing last time in 2014.
"You get a chance but ultimately what's important is can you deliver, you have what it takes, may be you get one chance you get a foot in the door, you inherit pros and cons of being in a family," said Milind Deora.