REPLUG: Read about Eknath Shinde, set to be Maharashtra CM

Senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has sent jitters in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition that governs Maharashtra, after he went “missing” after the recent MLC election along with around 20-26 MLAs.

The Cabinet-rank minister of urban development and public works (public undertakings) in the Maharashtra government, Shinde was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the fourth consecutive time in 2019.

Currently, he is an MLA from Kopri-Pachpakhadi in Thane as a member of the Shiv Sena. He was said to be one of the most influential leaders of the Sena with a considerable mass base.

Also read: Shiv Sena sacks Eknath Shinde as legislative party leader

Influenced by Bal Thackeray

He had joined the Shiv Sena in 1980s after being heavily influenced by Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and Shiv Sena’s Thane district chief Anand Dighe at the time.

Shinde, born on February 9, 1964, was a two-term corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation as well as a member of the powerful standing committee for three years.

He hails from the Maratha community in Satara. In 1997, he was elected to the Thane Municipal corporation for the first time. In 2001, he was elected to the post of the leader of the house in the Thane Municipal Corporation. In 2002, he was elected to the post for the second time.

Elected MLA in 2004

In 2004, he won the election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The following year, he was appointed the Thane district head of the Sena. In 2009, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the second time, and in 2014, for the third time.

When Sena decided to sit in the opposition after the 2014 assembly election, Shinde was elected as leader of opposition in the state.

On the personal front, Shinde is married to Lata Eknath Shinde. The couple’s son, Shrikant Shinde, an orthopaedic surgeon, is a two-time MP, elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014 and 2019 from the Kalyan constituency.