Mumbai, September 6: Union Minister and founder of Republican Party of India Ramdas Athawale is all set to launch his 12-year-old son into politics by forming a children wing. The Minister of State for Social Justice had already formed the “children wing” of his party RPI(A) which will be headed by a 12-year-old school going son Jeet Athawale. Also Read - Farm Bills 2020: SAD to Snap Ties With BJP? Read What Sukhbir Badal Says

Athawale, whose party is an NDA ally, wields some influence in the scattered Dalit landscape of Maharashtra. However, the Republican Party of India (Athawale) has no representative in the state Legislative Assembly. Also Read - 'Holding Polls Amid Pandemic Will Endanger Lives', LJP Asks EC to Postpone Bihar Elections

Political parties of various hues have utilised Athawale, considered a lightweight in state politics, at different times as per their needs, mainly to court the Dalit vote. Also Read - Boycott China Rally in Kolkata Brutally Trolled For Carrying US Map With President Xi Jinping's Image on Poster

Athawale announced the formation of the children wing of RPI (A) under Jeet in suburban Chembur in east Mumbai, a party statement said.

Not only that, Jeet “appointed” other “leaders” — all children — of the wing for suburban Chembur, parts of which have a significant Dalit population.

The party has not yet announced the domain of this wing and the kind of issues to be taken up by them.

Another regional party, Shiv Sena, which has a linear structure of succession in place, had seen the appointment of party president Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya at the age of 20, almost seven years ago. The junior Thackeray heads Yuva Sena or the youth wing of the party.

(With inputs from PTI)