Prithviraj Chavan
| Prithviraj Chavan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief Minister of Maharashtra | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 11 November 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Ashok Chavan |
| Constituency | Karad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 March 1946 Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Satvasheela |
| Residence | Satara |
| Alma mater | BITS, Pilani University of California, Berkeley |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Prithviraj Chavan (Marathi: पृथ्वीराज चव्हाण)(born 17 March 1946) is the 22nd and current Chief Minister of Maharashtra, a state in Western India. A member of the Indian National Congress party, he was chosen by its president Sonia Gandhi to replace Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in 2010, following the latter's involvement in the Adarsh scam. He was previously a member of the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the India's Parliament) and served as the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office.
Early life
Prithviraj Chavan was born to politicians Anandrao alias Dajisaheb Chavan and Premalakaki Chavan. Dajisaheb was a Member of the Lok Sabha from the Karad consitiuency, who served as Minister in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. Upon Dajisaheb's death, Chavan's mother Premalakaki contested from her late husband's constituency and served in the same capacity for all consecutive terms till her death in 1995 .
Chavan graduated in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, and holds a Master of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He wrote articles on computer science; engineering design; and also contribution to research in computerization.
Political career
Chavan started his political career in 1991 in place of his mother, and won the family seat of Karad thrice, in '91, '96 and '98 and lost it in 1999.[1]
He was the Minister of State for the ministries of Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and in charge of Prime Minister's Office. Earlier he was also the Minister Of State in charge of the Department Of Atomic Energy. He retained his image of "Mr. Clean" which fetched prestigious post of chief minister after departure of Ashok Chavan on account of Adarsh Scam. Barely days into his tenure as the Chief Minister Of Maharashtra, he, along with Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel, met Jairam Ramesh, the Minister for Environment And Forests and successfully convinced him to give the environmental clearance for the much delayed Navi Mumbai International Airport. He was instrumental in fostering establishment of Jaitapur Power Project through direct counseling of natizens. He has also announced reformations in higher and technical education in Maharashtra. The research at the University level has been promoted by providing enhanced Scholarships so that people can take up the work for full-time. In the very first year, staunch steps to curb corruption in cooperative sector was taken by him through RBI by dissolution of Directorate of Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank. The administrators appointed by state government brought back the bank into profit through huge debt recovery. He had also put down builder lobby having background of unfair practices in urban areas especially in Mumbai and Pune. Despite this, he has been widely criticized by his party fellows, allies and opposition for not taking decisions on developmental issues by keeping files unsigned ranging from Infra Projects, Toll Issues, Sports Awards to Agriculture & Industry policy related issues.He took key decision in reforming Tax structures at local body levels through replacement of Octroi by Local Body Tax (LBT). Although his move was upheld by courts,he faced widespread agitation from merchants especially Gujrathi & Jain. He initiated a Government Resolution on the long pending issue of development of cessed buildings thereby doing away with he conventional Mantralaya brokers who reigned the fate of lakhs of middle class populace of the city of Mumbai for over decades. Mr. Chavan is known to have done away with political touts in the corridors of power as he executes crucial matters via policy decisions so that to serve masses rather than classes. There has been agony about his clean & transparent working style among cabinet colleagues. Mr. Chavan however, enjoys goodwill of common households in the State.
Personal life
Pritviraj Chavan Born in Sangli is married to Satvasheela. They have a daughter Ankita and a son Jai. Ankita got married on Nov 11 2010 in Delhi.[2]
Posts held
- Member of IIT council and joint admission board.
References
- ↑ Gupta, Smita (10 November 2010). "Prithviraj, with a clean image, takes up key political assignment". The Hindu (Chennai, India).
- ↑ Deshpande, Rajeev (29 November 2013). "Techknow neta: The aerospace engineer who became a politician". The Times Of India.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prithviraj Chavan. |
- Profile on Rajya Sabha website
- Profile on Parliament of India website
- Article on Rediff
- Prithviraj Chavan named new Maharashtra CM
- Profile on Department of Science and Technology's Website
| Preceded by Ashok Chavan |
Chief Minister of Maharashtra 11 Nov 2010 - Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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