Panaji, Oct 22 (TNN): Two first-time Shiv Sena legislators in the brand-new Maharashtra assembly have roots in Goa—Sanjay Potnis, 57, is a native of Bardez's Britona, while Prakash Phaterpekar, 56, has links in Quepem's Balli. While Potnis, a resident of Vakola, defeated his Congress opponent to win Kalina (Mumbai suburban), Phaterpekar wrested his 'home' seat of Chembur from his BJP rival.
This is the first time Shiv Sena has won these Mumbai seats. Speaking in fluent Konkani to TOI from Mumbai, the duo, who frequently visit their ancestral homes in Goa, are happy to talk about their Goa connection. Potnis, a former corporator of the Vakola Municipal Corporation, said his family moved to Mumbai soon after Goa's liberation.
The son of a carpenter, he completed his primary education at the government primary school in Britona. "I come to Britona every fortnight to buy rice, masala, dry fish, food grains, etc," said the businessman, adding that the purchases are used in the family's Vakola home, where they all speak Konkani.
Phaterpekar, also a businessman, was brought to Mumbai as a one-year-old toddler by an uncle following his father's death. His two brothers live in Balli, where Shaunak runs a bar-and-restaurant and Sharad is a farmer. "I visit my ancestral house at Balli and the Shantadurga temple at Fatorpa once in two months," said Phaterpekar, adding that his family also speaks Konkani at their home in Chembur.
Potnis joined the Shiv Sena in 1980, becoming its shakhapramukh (branch head) for the first time in 1992. His assembly win, by a margin of 1,297 votes, is considered significant, as Kalina has traditionally been a Congress seat. "I won the ward for Shiv Sena for the first time in the corporation elections and this time I once again made it for the Shiv Sena," gushed Potnis. He called it a tough contest "as my ticket was announced on September 24, and I got only 15 days to campaign".
The former chairman of the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST)—2007-2008 and 2010-2011—shares his life with wife, Sunaina, who till recently worked in the banking industry and in 2002 won the municipal corporation seat. The couple have a son, Yash, who is in Class XII. Phaterperkar, on the other hand, was a social worker in Chembur at the age of 17, before joining mainstream politics.
He worked at a starred hotel in Mumbai before starting his own engineering business. In 1975, he joined the Shiv Sena and held various positions, including vice-president of its autorickshaw union. In 2007, he was elected for the first time as a corporator of the Chembur Municipal Corporation. When the ward was subsequently reserved for women, he fielded daughter Suprada, an interior designer, who went on to win.
Phaterperkar's assembly win in the BJP bastion was by a margin of 10,027 votes. His wife Sonia is a secretary at a high school, while their son, who completed his MBA in London, has joined the family business. Calling himself a "social worker first, politician later", Phaterpekar says he holds various programmes in Chembur "for the welfare of society and to maintain religious harmony".