BJP leader Ram Shinde was on Thursday appointed the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Council – a post that has been vacant for over two years.
For the BJP, Ram Shinde’s appointment not only confirms its dominance in the Upper House, which is politically important to push the work of the state government to its logical end, but also strengthens its efforts to reach out to the Dhangar community. He is a 55-year-old leader.
The move is also seen as a political rehabilitation of Ram Shinde after consecutive defeats in the 2019 and 2024 assembly elections.
In the recently concluded assembly elections, Ram Shinde lost to Rohit Pawar of NCP (SP) from the Karjat-Jamkhed constituency in Ahmednagar district by a narrow margin of 1,243 votes. He then blamed BJP’s alliance partner NCP led by Rohit Pawar’s uncle Ajit Pawar for the defeat.
Ram Shinde hails from Chondi in Ahmednagar district of western Maharashtra.
He started his political journey after completing his BEd from Marathwada University, then Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) and MSc from Pune University.
In 2009, he won as a BJP candidate from Karjat-Jamkhed, a seat he held in the 2009 and 2014 elections.
He was also the Minister of State for Home, Public Health, Horticulture and Marketing and Tourism in 2014 when Devendra Fadnavis was the Chief Minister.
Within two years, he was elevated to a cabinet-rank minister and was given the ministry of water conservation in 2016. Ram Shinde was appointed as a member of the State Legislative Council (MLC) in July 2022.
Representation of Dhangar community
Ram Sinde belongs to the Dhangar (shepherd) community, which constitutes 9 percent of the state’s population.
The community has been demanding reservation for Scheduled Tribes for decades.
Currently Dhangars get 3.5 percent quota in Nomadic caste (c) Dhangars category.
In the 2014 assembly elections, Devendra Fadnavis had promised to address the quota demand of the Dhangar community.
Accordingly, the government initiated the survey and tasked TISS with preparing the study report. However, the issue remains undecided as communities under the ST category have opposed the move.
Demand for the position
The post of Chairman of the State Legislative Council was vacant since 2022 after the term of the undivided CPN leader Ramraje Nimbalkar ended.
Unlike in the past, the BJP has made it clear that it will not relinquish its claim to constitutional posts in the state legislature.
Ekanth Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s Neelam Gorhe, who was MLC vice president from 2022 to 2024, was given the additional charge of acting president.
Even as the Shinde Sena was contesting for the post of president, the BJP maintained its stand that it had more members in the state council.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Fadnavis called Ram Shinde’s appointment a “full tribute” to Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar.
“It is Ahilyabai Holkar’s 300th birth anniversary and coincidentally we have made Ram Shinde the Speaker of the State Legislative Council. Shinde is the ninth generation of Ahilyabai Holkar’s paternal family.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde said: “You have Ram in your name. And you share the surname Shinde. I am confident that you will give justice to every member of the Upper House.”
Meanwhile, NCP chief and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, whom Ram Shinde had accused of not campaigning for him, said: “Whatever happens is for the best… You complained about not holding an election rally in Karjat-Jamkhed and you lost. Today you have reached a higher position. You are.”
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