My Father’s Name Was in Contention for 12 Times, but Never Finalised: Dejected Son Writes After Madhav Bhandari Is Overlooked for Rajya Sabha

Following the surprising move of Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joining the BJP, signs of discontent have emerged within the party. Notably, veteran BJP leader and spokesperson Madhav Bhandari has faced rejection for candidacy a total of 12 times. In response, Chinmay Bhandari son of Madhav Bhandari took to social media platform X to express his dismay.

My father joined the Jansangh/Janata Party in 1975, a few years before it would become the BJP in 1980. It has been nearly 50 years. Most people know him as a fiery spokesperson who became one of the most prominent voices of anger against the UPA government in Maharashtra from 2008 to 2014. But he has been much more than that, and he has done much more than that.

Most people know him as a fiery spokesperson who became one of the most prominent voices of anger against the UPA government in Maharashtra from 2008 to 2014. But he has been much more than that, and he has done much more than that. In these 50 years, he has helped build the organisation in various parts of Maharashtra in multiple roles. He has helped thousands of people and hundreds of villages across the state. He has positively influenced lakhs of lives, he said on X.

This is a deeply personal post, and it is my personal thought process.

Not many know that I am @Madhavbhandari_ (Madhav Bhandari, Vice President of BJP Maharashtra) son.

Today, I want to write about my father.

My father joined the Jansangh/Janata Party in 1975, a few years… pic.twitter.com/SHMzOtwFHn

— Chinmay Bhandari (@iTsChinmay) February 15, 2024

All this while, he stayed away from the limelight for his work. He never misused his position and influence for personal gain.

I will give you an example of its extent. When he was vice president of Sindhudurg Jilha Parishad in the late 90s, our house was outside of town. The electricity grid is a kilometre away. So, instead of forcing MECB to build it for one house, he chose to wait for 18 months, and we lived without electricity for that period. This is while he was building roads and bringing electricity to many other villages.

There are countless such examples when he has put the party and people above him. It has made him one of the universally respected political figures in the state. Unfortunately, he remains one of the least rewarded leaders at the same time, too.

12 times in my life, I have seen his name in contention either for assembly or the upper house. And 12 times, it has not been finalized. I am not in any position to question or judge the leadership. I don’t even want to do that. Because, like my father, I too believe in them. But it is my place to feel the hope and the pain. again and again.

He has never expressed his anguish in public. He has never tried to hurt the party that he has spent his life building. He has never stopped working for the party, not during his ill health, not even when he lost the person closest to him last year. In contrast, I have seen people who have been ministers or MPs multiple times cry of “injustice”, at the drop of a hat.