The upcoming assembly election in Maharashtra is the state’s first since the Shiv Sena split in 2022. The split was spearheaded by Eknath Shinde, the incumbent chief minister and a long-time Shiv Sainik who is said to have parted ways with Uddhav Thackeray because the latter led the party into an “unnatural alliance” with the Congress.
Born in Satara on 9 February, 1964, Eknath Shinde has spent much of his life in Thane, where his family moved in the pursuit of a better life. He joined the Shiv Sena in his youth, inspired by the ideology of party founder Balasaheb Thackeray and led by the late Anand Dighe, a senior leader of the party whom Shinde credits as his mentor.
As the election draws closer, here are five facts that offer a peek into Eknath Shinde’s life and political journey:
- After he completed Class 11, Eknath Shinde could not study further due to his family’s financial situation, his website notes. However, his determination to complete his education never waned, and, nearly 20 years later, he graduated from Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marathi & Political Science.
- Tragedy struck the Shinde family while they were on holiday in 2000. Eknath and Lata Shinde’s younger children, son Deepesh and daughter Shubhada, drowned in a lake as their boat capsized. Their surviving son Shrikant is an orthopaedic surgeon and a Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra’s Kalyan seat.
- Eknath Shinde drove an autorickshaw to support his family during a particularly tough period.
- During his early days in the Shiv Sena, he spent 40 days in jail for his participation in a Maharashtra-Karnataka border agitation.
- His first key political position was as a corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation, which he took on in 1997 at the age of 33. He made his debut as an MLA in 2004, and has served four consecutive terms in the assembly.
Elections for the 288 assembly seats of Maharashtra will be held on November 20, with results scheduled for November 23.