Eknath Shinde: The Journey Of Auto Driver Who Overtook Thackeray Heir | 10 Points

Last Updated:December 04, 2024, 20:05 IST

Eknath Shinde last week thanked Maharashtra for the massive verdict, saying he had become the ‘Ladka Bhau’ thanks to his scheme for ‘Ladki Bahins’

Eknath Shinde won 57 of the 81 seats he contested in the Maharashtra assembly elections. (X)

From a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to becoming the CM of Maharashtra after engineering a split in the Shiv Sena and claiming the Bal Thackeray legacy, party name and symbol, Eknath Shinde has come a long way.

Shinde is set to take oath as the deputy CM, with Devendra Fadnavis as the CM, on Thursday, sources said.

Shinde last Wednesday thanked Maharashtra for the massive verdict for Mahayuti, his alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and NCP Ajit Pawar, saying he had become the ‘Ladka Bhau (dear brother)’ owing to his scheme for ‘Ladki Bahins (dear sisters)’.

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In a jibe at his now arch-rival Thackeray, Shinde said he was not born with a “golden spoon” and remembered his humble background, which helped him stay the CM – common man – and connect with the masses.

As Shinde pointed out, his journey from an autorickshaw driver to the state’s top job wasn’t smooth. While he got the power after the split, the Maharashtra assembly polls – months after the Lok Sabha elections where he won a satisfactory seven seats of the 15 he contested – were a litmus test.

And Shinde passed with flying colours, winning 57 of the 81 seats he contested, proving his is the “real Sena” in the mind of the state. The score put him in a bargaining position for the top post, which went on for days after the results came out.

While he may not be the CM this time, a look at Eknath Shinde’s political journey in 10 points:

1. Born on February 9, 1964, Shinde, a Maratha, moved from his hometown Satara to Thane to complete his education. He studied at Mangala High School and Junior College in Thane, but had to leave his education midway as his family needed financial support. This is the time he worked as an autorickshaw driver. He is also said to have worked in a beer brewery and as a lorry driver to make ends meet.
2. He then came in contact with Anand Dighe, Sena’s firebrand leader from Thane, who inspired him to become a full-time Shiv Sainik. As Shinde lost his two children in a boat accident in 2000, Dighe became his support and motivated him in his political career. Shinde’s other son, Shrikant, is a Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan.
3. Shinde was greatly influenced by Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and participated in several agitations across the state. He spent 40 days in prison after being arrested during the protests along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border over the status of Belagavi.
4. The party gave him his first political opportunity in 1997 by giving him a ticket to contest in the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). He won by a huge margin. In 2001, he was elected as the leader of the house in the TMC.
5. In 2004, he contested assembly polls from the Thane constituency and won. His winning spree continued, even in the 2024 assembly elections.
6. In 2005, he was given the coveted post which his mentor Dighe held, Shiv Sena Thane District head. From October-December 2014, he was the leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly; PWD minister and guardian minister of Thane district from 2014-2019. In 2019, he was appointed as the cabinet minister of public health and family welfare. He has also held the post of the minister of urban development and public works (public undertakings) and home minister.
7. In 2022, Shinde managed to split the Sena. The trigger was the June 20 setback for the MVA in the legislative council polls. The opposition BJP had won all five seats it contested. The Thackeray government was then pushed into the danger zone as the BJP secured 134 votes in the 288-member Assembly, where the majority mark is 145. The Sena-NCP-Congress support eroded to 151 from 169. In an early morning shocker for Thackeray, Shinde, along with 11 MLAs, flew to Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat. Around 4 am on June 22, Shinde and the rebel MLAs, with the number around 35, boarded a chartered flight to Guwahati in BJP-governed Assam. What followed was a number game of Sena MLAs switching over to the Shinde camp. There were numerous requests and offers from the Thackeray side, but the number in the Shinde camp only kept swelling to 39.
8. Then came the biggest blow for the Thackeray-led faction – the governor invited Shinde to form the government. Thackeray challenged the move and the floor test in the SC. However, on June 29, the top court gave a go-ahead to the floor test, asking Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30. After the apex court’s order, Thackeray announced his resignation as the CM and Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the chief minister, with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
9. Shinde also claimed that his faction was the “real Sena”, thus starting another battle with Uddhav Thackeray on ground and in the Supreme Court. In 2023, in a major win, the Election Commission of India (ECI) allotted the party name ‘Shiv Sena’ and the party symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the Shinde faction. The SC asked speaker Rahul Narwekar to hold hearings on the disqualification of Sena MLAs, based on which he termed Shinde’s as the real Sena.
10. Despite holding that then Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had no reason to conclude that Thackeray had lost the confidence of the house, the SC bench refused to reinstate the government, as Thackeray did not take the floor test. Thackeray’s plea challenging the EC’s order over the party’s name and its symbol is pending in the SC, even as Shinde continues to stamp his authority as the head of the Shiv Sena.