Who is Shrikant Shinde, who may be Maharashtra's next Deputy CM?

Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, the son of Maharashtra's caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Monday (December 2) said the speculations about him getting the Deputy CM's post in the new state government were false and baseless.

In a post on X, the parliamentarian also said he had the chance of becoming a minister at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, but he refused it and he wanted to focus on working for the party organisation.

"The news that I will be the deputy chief minister has been circulating with question marks for the past two days. There is no truth to this, and all such news are baseless," the Kalyan MP said on X.

More than a week after the Mahayuti clinched a massive victory in Maharashtra polls with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 132 seats, the new government is yet to be sworn in.

Also read: Sulking Shinde, stubborn BJP: Maharashtra deadlock deepens

The oath-taking ceremony of the Mahayuti government is scheduled for December 5 evening at Azad Maidan in Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra, a senior BJP leader claimed on Sunday night.

Political journey, early life

Shrikant Shinde is the Shiv Sena (Shinde) MP from Kalyan Lok Sabha seat and is also the son of outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

An orthopaedician by profession, Shrikant made his electoral debut in 2014 Lok Sabha elections when he defeated Anand Paranjpe of the NCP from Kalyan constituency by a margin of more than 2.5 lakh votes and went on to become one of the youngest Maratha MPs at the age of 27. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare during his first stint as the Lok Sabha MP.

Shrikant was re-elected as Kalyan MP in 2019 after he defeated NCP candidate Babaji Balaram Patil by a margin of 3.44 lakh votes. He was also appointed as a member of Standing Committee on Defence.

In the electoral arena as the chief minister’s son following a split in the Shiv Sena in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shrikant survived the Sena vs Sena battle in Kalyan and defeated Sena (UBT) candidate Vaishali Darekar Rane, though his winning margin came down to about 2.1 lakh.

Before venturing into politics, Shrikant Shinde pursued a medical career. He earned an MBBS degree and later completed an MS in Orthopaedics at Dr DY Patil Medical College in Navi Mumbai. At the time he was first elected as Kalyan MP in 2014, he was in the final year of his Master’s program.

Initiatives and projects

Shrikant has got multiple projects approved and has been vocal about the need to develop better infrastructure to deal with the rapid urbanisation. He has strongly pursued Kalyan Ring Road project, Kalyan-Shilphata Road, and the Water Transport Project.

Also read: People know who’ll be CM, we’re waiting for official stamp: Maharashtra BJP leader

As expected, he took initiative to strengthen the medical facilities in Kalyan constituency. He followed up on the renovation of ESIC Hospital (Ulhasnagar) equipped with 100 beds and all upgraded machinery, MRI and CT scan facility at reasonable cost in KDMC Hospital and Chhatrapati Shivaji Hospital Kalwa, dialysis centres in Shastri Nagar and Netivali (Dombivali).

Shrikant took a slew of measures to ensure that every patient gets proper treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. He roped in One Rupee Clinic for a tie-up with Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) so that needy people should get COVID treatment at lowest cost.

He has also established a Dr Shrikant Shinde Foundation which has collaborated with Shiv Sena to arrange free medical camps in Sindhudurg district. He also holds ‘Shiv Mandir Art Festival’ in Ambernath (Kalyan).