Eknath Sambhaji Shinde is an Indian politician serving as the 20th and Current Chief Minister of Maharashtra He was earlier the Cabinet Minister of Urban Development and Public Works (Public Undertakings) in the Government Of Maharashtra. He is a Member of Legislative Assembly from Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency of Thane, Maharashtra. He has been elected consecutively for 4 terms in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019.
Shinde was introduced to politics by then Thane Shivsena President Anand Dighe in early 1980. Shinde became successor to Dighe's legacy after his death in 2001. He is elected as Member of Legislative Assembly since 2004 for four consecutive terms.
From working in a beer brewery in Thane and driving an autorickshaw to make ends meet, to becoming the most powerful leader in the Shiv Sena after the Thackerays, to splitting the party and becoming Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, has had an eventful career. (Express file photo by Deepak Joshi)
Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 30th June, by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. (Express File Photo/ Representative)
Under the government led by the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition which consisted of Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP, Shinde was appointed as the Urban Development and PWD Minister. (Express file photo by Deepak Joshi)
In the high-intensity crisis that saw Shiv Sena scion Uddhav Thackeray resign as CM, two qualities helped Shinde prevail: the fact that he has the loyalty of many party MLAs for being an accessible leader – especially when appointment at Matoshree got tough – and being generous with economic largesse. (Express file photo by Deepak Joshi)
Shinde's swearing-in ceremony also contained a surprise. Shortly after former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis told a press conference that he would not be a part of the government, the central leadership of the party said he would be joining the government as the deputy CM. (Express file photo by Narendra Vaskar)