A crusader falls: The humiliation of Kirit Somaiya

In Maharashtra, a noticeable schadenfreude has erupted over the fate of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.

A doughty muckraker and a crusader of common man's causes, 'Kirit bhai', as he is popularly known, is now avoiding the public after a sex tape allegedly featuring him was aired on a Marathi news channel on July 17. The clip, needless to say, went viral.

People watched in horror; rivals rubbed their hands in glee.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare distilled the thoughts of the Opposition, saying the clips were “of someone who had been trying to disrobe political opponents” but now the person himself had been disrobed.

Read | Mumbai Police begins probe in Kirit Somaiya controversial video

There are reportedly 35 such clips featuring various women in a pen drive that has been handed over to the state government. And there are allegations that Somaiya was blackmailing these women.

Somaiya denied the allegations. A red-faced BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government has ordered a high-level probe.

But the public humiliation of the 69-year-old has confounded a lot of people. Was Somaiya Janus-faced all along? How long has this been going on? Is this the end of the road for him?

Brought up in Mumbai in a middle-class Gujarati family, Somaiya graduated with a degree in Commerce and later did his CA. He acquired a PhD in “Capital Market – Small Investors Protection" from the University of Mumbai.

The CA and the PhD specialisation would become two of his potent arrows in his bow, as he would wield them increasingly later on in his avatar as a street fighter.

Signs of his political leanings arrived in his student days: he took part in the JP movement and the anti-Emergency protests; and when the BJP was formed, he joined the saffron party.

He became an MLA in 1995 and, nearly a decade later, rode the Narendra Modi wave and became an MP from Mumbai North-East in 2014. Over the years, he held several posts — BJP-Mumbai President, BJP national secretary, and now is Maharashtra BJP Vice President.

But it is Somaiya's evolution as a champion of the 'aam aadmi' and a nemesis of the rich and the influential that is most compelling, which makes his fall from grace all the more shocking.

In the mid-90s, Somaiya formed the Investors’ Grievances Forum (IGF) to take up the cause of small investors and became a household name; a messiah of sorts to those who were cheated by big players and were victims of scams.

The indefatigable Somaiya would besiege newspapers offices and news agencies, speaking to editors, reporters to explain and talk about his pet causes. This reporter was among the many who witnessed Somaiya's exertions.

Somaiya used to personally hand over his press statements. Being a CA, he was well-versed with the nuances of financial irregularities.

Be it railways, slum dwellers, attack by leopards around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, or fighting for 7/11 victims, Mumbaikars could count on Somaiya.

Among the misdeeds he exposed include the Adarsh, NSEL and coal mining irregularities and the irrigation scam in Maharashtra. And he was such an effective fighting machine because he addressed news conferences at regular intervals and remained accessible to reporters on the beats.

For the BJP, Somaiya's specific set of skills came in handy. There has not been a leader who has not been caught in Somaiya's crosshairs: the Pawars, the Thackerays, the Congress leadership — all faced his wrath; even corporate entities didn't escape his scrutiny.

But not all are convinced of his work.

"Over these years, he made baseless allegations and made a name for himself," said an Opposition leader. "He made wild allegations and used his knowledge of being a CA in targeting Opposition leaders. But how many have been convicted? And if we look at the Shiv Sena and NCP cases, his allegations were later cleaned in the BJP's washing machine."

Ironically, Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal — against whom Somaiya levelled grave allegations of corruption — are now in the Sena-BJP coalition government, forcing him to holster his gun.

Last year, Somaiya and his son were swept up in allegations of corruption in the collection drives both carried out to save the decommissioned aircraft carrier Vikrant. The Opposition piled on him.

But the current sordid spectacle is in a different category altogether.

"It is difficult for Somaiya to make a comeback as age is not on his side," a veteran political analyst said.

"For the last few years, he was making efforts to contest from the Mumbai Northeast again. But it is likely not going to happen as the Lok Sabha polls are round the corner. Also, there is not much support for him at this stage from the party leadership. They want the probe to be over. Even if he comes out clean, he would find it difficult to regain the same stature again."

Somaiya's career has suffered a huge blow due to the scandal. As the media and rivals chip away at his persona, as the clip does the rounds of social media, it is bound to leave a vastly diminished Somaiya.