Gopalkrishna Gandhi's nephew hits out at uncle for taking Congress' side, says 'Not in Gandhiji's name'

New Delhi: Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who is contesting the August 5 Vice Presidential Election, has been slammed by his own nephew for agreeing to represent the Congress-led Opposition.

In a letter to his uncle, Shrikrishna Kulkarni wrote, “I saw with dismay the TV images of you, going to file your nomination for the Vice President — flanked by this family of dynastic politics.”

Kulkarni, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, hit out at the former West Bengal governor for offering his candidature to a side which has "re-institutionalized dynastic succession and has systematically eroded the political landscape of India."

By joining the Opposition, Gandhi has "tore apart the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhimrao Ambedkar", wrote Kulkarni.

"The present President of the Congress Party has been in position for 18 years since 1998. Her son (5th generation of Nehru dynasty, starting from Motilal Nehru) is in line for succession. And of all the people in this nation, you choose to offer yourself to be their candidate?" Kulkarni said.

So many scandals & not single comment from you. Do you really believe these are political vendetta?: Krish in letter to Gopalkrishna Gandhi pic.twitter.com/rSYhej1dir — ANI (@ANI_news) July 30, 2017

Opposition-backed Gopalkrishna Gandhi is pitted against ruling National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) candidate M Venkaiah Naidu. 

In an effective electoral college of 786 members of both houses of Parliament, Naidu is comfortably placed against Gandhi as the NDA has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha currently has 543 members and the Rajya Sabha 243. Both Houses have two vacancies each.