Nagpur/Yavatmal: While Sharad Pawar and Balasaheb Thackeray are the names discussed when political blue bloods and "chacha-bhatija" political equations come into play, Maharashtra's real uncle-nephew power axis goes completely unnoticed in media headlines. The Naik family from Pusad (Yavatmal) is the only one in Maharashtra to have produced two CMs, and has not lost their assembly seat for the last 60 years.
On Saturday, sitting MLA Indranil Naik maintained his family's unblemished electoral record by winning Pusad seat for the third consecutive term with a huge margin.
The family's patriarch, Vasantrao Naik became Maharashtra's CM in 1963, and held on to that post till 1975, the longest tenure for any CM in state's history. Later in the early 90s, his nephew Sudhakar Naik became the CM, making them the only uncle-nephew combine to hold the top post in the state. Both Vasantrao and Sudhakar won the assembly polls from the same Pusad constituency.
The Naik family's political legacy started even before formation of Maharashtra state, as Vasantrao won the 1951 Madhya Pradesh state elections from Pusad (then called Fusad). As per Election Commission of India (ECI) data, Naik won that poll with 27% vote share.
In 1957, the constituency was made part of the Bombay state and polls again saw Vasantrao winning with an increased vote share of just over 32%.
Maharashtra state was formed in 1960, but went to its first poll in 1962. In the interim period, Maharashtra CM's post was held by Yashwantrao Chavhan who was heading the erstwhile Bombay state. In 1962, Vasantrao won from Pusad for the third consecutive time, and a year later took charge as CM in 1963 after the incumbent M Kanammwar passed away.
Vasantrao continued to hold the top post till 1975, a record which till date remains unbroken. In 1977, Vasantrao moved to Delhi after winning the Lok Sabha polls, and his nephew Sudhakar Naik became the new MLA of Pusad.
The MLA seat alternated between Vasantrao's nephews Sudhakar and Manohar in the coming years and finally in 1991, Sudhakar took over as CM of Maharashtra. Sudhakar last contested the Pusad polls in 1999, and held on to the seat for the entire term.
From 2004, his brother Manohar's family branch has held on to the assembly seat, with son Indranil taking over in 2019 and now retaining it in 2024.