Rajabhau Waje, 59, who won the candidature by defeating many veterans, is a loyal Shiv Sainik and is a former MLA of Sinnar Assembly constituency. In 2014, he was elected from Sinnar on a Shiv Sena ticket. Waje also has a great political legacy. His grandfather Shankar Balaji Waje was the first MLA of Sinnar after the formation of Maharashtra state.

His grandmother, Rukminibai Waje was elected as the first woman MLA of Sinnar Assembly constituency in 1967. His father Prakash also contested the 2009 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election from Sinnar. Moving into the deeper interiors of Nashik, mid-day caught up with him at the Madsangavi village temple amid villagers.