Eknath Shinde was born in Maharashtra on February 9, 1964. He is an Indian politician and became the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. On July 30, Eknath Shinde, who overthrew Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, was appointed the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He previously served as the cabinet minister for urban development and public works (public undertakings) in the Maharashtra government. He is currently a member of the legislative assembly from Thane, Maharashtra’s Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency. He has been elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly four times in a row, in 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019.
The Shiv Sena and BJP’s pre-election partnership was broken after the 2019 Maharashtra elections. In its place, it established a government with the NCP and Congress. Shinde was appointed minister of public works and urban development, while Uddhav Thackeray was named chief minister. Like other Shiv Sena lawmakers, Shinde left the Thackeray administration in June 2022. Thackeray resigned during a political crisis. With the backing of his Shiv Sena faction, the BJP, and other smaller parties, Shinde was sworn in a day after his resignation.
Early life
Eknath Shinde is a Maratha originally from the Jawali taluka in Satara, Maharashtra. His family relocated to Thane, a city outside of Mumbai, to make a living. At Mangala High School & Junior College in Thane, Eknath completed his studies in the eleventh grade. Shinde dropped out of school early to help support his family, but in 2014, after joining a government ministry, he picked up where he left off. At the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2020 with a 77.25% grade point average. Before going into politics, Shinde worked as an autorickshaw driver to support his family.
Personal life
Lata Shinde is the wife of Shinde. On June 2, 2000, their daughter Shubhada, then aged 7, and son Dipesh, then eleven, went boating in a lake close to their home village in Maharashtra. The youngsters drowned when the boat capsized, killing them both. For several months, Shinde suffered from depression. To keep Shinde’s mind active and away from depression, Anand Dighe gave him emotional support and more responsibility. Shrikant Shinde, their surviving child, is an orthopaedic surgeon and has served as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Kalyan seat since 2014. (re-elected in 2019). Anand Dighe and Eknath Shinde’s lives were covered in the 2022 Indian Marathi-language biographical drama Dharmaveer by Pravin Tarde. Eknath Shinde was played by Kshitij Date. In Dharmaveer, Eknath Shinde plays one of Dighe’s most devoted foot soldiers in a prominent role.
How did Eknath Shinde begin his political career?
At the time, Anand Dighe, the president of Thane Shivsena, introduced Shinde to politics at the beginning of 1980. Following Dighe passing away in 2001, Shinde took over as the heir to his legacy. He has been elected to the Legislative Assembly since 2004 and has served four terms in a row as a member.
