Although reportedly groupism, internal politics, and his differences with some senior leaders diminished his chances of contesting the general election, he gracefully accepted the party’s decision and went on to adopt a noble profession towards fulfilling the dreams of PM Modi by rendering his services towards educating youth in Swami Vivekanand Subharti University as an “Honourary Visiting Professor” and also taking care of his duties as a BJP worker.
When asked about why he was denied a ticket this Lok Sabha election, Gaikwad told Afternoon Voice, “I am the foot soldier who doesn’t need any position to take care of my responsibilities in the Party. I am happy to serve as an MP for the last five years and grateful to my party for showing faith in me. BJP is a huge party with many cadres; everyone should get the chance. Once I was given the chance, now my peers have got the chance. However, our dedication and commitment to the people and party we belong to is permanent, not the position.”
While the list included 16 names from Maharashtra, Gaikwad, despite working tirelessly for his constituency during his five years tenure and being appreciated by the government for his presence in the Parliament and for voicing his opinion for his people, was replaced with a new face — building contractor Sudhakar Shringare, a Zilla Parishad Member from Vadwal Nagnath Zilla Parishad group and known to be a close aide to Labour and Guardian Minister Sambhaji Patil-Nilangekar. Shringare belongs to Gharani village in Chakur taluka of Latur district.
In a response to what are his further plans, he expressed, “I am doing the same — connecting to the people of my constituency, campaigning for my party, trying to establish connections with everyone so that they can understand the importance of voting. Meanwhile, I have received an offer from the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, to work as an Honourary Professor. I will engage in teaching students. I believe teaching is the most important profession in the world. How else can we continue to develop in such a technical world, or in any other way, for that matter? Without the transfer of knowledge to young minds, we will stagnate and wither as a world.”
Gaikwad is known to be a close companion of Union minister Nitin Gadkari. The serving parliamentarian, well-known as one of the highly educated grassroot level workers of BJP, secured his victory in 2014 general elections defeating Congress’s Dattatray Gunderao by a margin of 2.5 lakh votes. He is the publisher of various newspapers and magazines and had completed Doctorate (PhD) at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad in 2015. He persistently worked for the welfare of people belonging to the Dalit Community and strived to ensure social justice and employment for the people belonging to Tribal and Backward Classes.
Talking about his political carrier, the Latur MP emphasised on his desire to serve his people with or without being in power and said, “Once a worker, always a worker. I am right here with my party pursuing the dreams of our PM; teaching is also one of the aims of BJP towards empowerment.”
Sharing thoughts on how Latur will miss an efficient representative like Gaikwad, senior journalist Satish Tandale stated, “Dr. Sunil Gaikwad’s candidature for upcoming LS polls has been surprisingly denied by BJP despite him being a highly educated and dedicated MP. A local body of BJP has taken disadvantage of his sober nature. He is a victim of dirty politics and not belonging from a political family is another drawback.”
Senior Journalist and Sarpanch Sanjay Dhondopant Jewarikar said, “Sunil Gaikwad was a capable MP and he had close links with all the political parties. He has kept away from groupism which is prevalent at ground level politics. Latur residents liked him and he had never created any troubles for them. Everyone expected Gaikwad to get a ticket this LS polls, but he was denied due to internal politics.”
