Washim to be his political battlefield
Manish Pachouly
MUMBAI: Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Mr. Sameer Wankhede is all set to make his debut in active politics with Washim district in Maharashtra to be his political battlefield.
There have been talks of him joining politics since his visit to RSS headquarters in Nagpur in March. However, he has so far not confirmed his intentions of entering the political field.
Those close to him said that he is now prepared to take the plunge and has tremendous support in Washim district, his hometown. He hails from a very poor village Varun Tohfa in Washim district.
Over the years, Mr. Wankhede’s fan following has peaked and reached new heights. His fearless work in airport Customs, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Narcotics Control Bureau had already made him popular among the masses.
However, of late he has been active in public life, attending functions associated with drug eradication and other social causes.
Sources close to him said that his main interest is in four fields – anti-drug movement, orphanages, organ and blood donation, and guiding the backward class to attempt civil services and join the military, and para-military forces. He is associated with two orphanages including Sindhutai Sakpal orphanage in Pune where he promotes the cause for the orphan girl child. He has been frequently visiting various areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat to promote social causes.
His inclination to enter active politics can be gauged by his attendance at the Bhim Geet Mohotsav in Sawad, Washim as one of the dignitaries, a couple of days back. The function was attended by over one lakh people and one of the RSS functionaries, who was also on the stage, asked the crowd, don’t they think an officer like him should be a public representative? The crowd applauded and cheered in affirmation. Mr. Wankhede too addressed the crowd which again got a tremendous response with people clapping, whistling and cheering.
A few days before this, he had a discussion session with parents, children, and concerned citizens of Mumbai on saying no to drugs. Mr. Wankhede is associated with the Government of India’s ‘nasha mukt Bharat’ campaign. “As an individual, I will do all in my capacity to make people aware & as much as in my position to stop the consumption of this fatal drug, I will leave no stone unturned. This topic is the closest to my heart as it saves our future generation,” he said in his Facebook post.
In mid-April, he had a similar interactive session titled ‘Talk About Drugs’ with the parents and children in Navi Mumbai.
In another recent post, he informed that he has registered himself as an organ donor under National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO). “Let’s give life to at least 8 to 9 people as we close our eyes forever. We can’t be more fortunate while bidding adieu to the world, we leave hope of life to quite a few who have been suffering with organ failures & are persistently on painful & expensive medical treatments,” he said in his post.
Mr. Wankhede refused to comment when asked if he is all set to join active politics.
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