Jitendra Awhad

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jitendra Awhad

• Jitendra Awhad is an Indian politician affiliated with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He has been 3 time MLA from Mumbra-Kalwa (Thane) constituency and has served as Minister in different Maharashtra cabinets. He became the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in July 2023.

• He used to actively play sports during his teenage and later shifted to politics.

  

• He entered student politics while studying in college. He was a Gymkhana secretary during his college days and later became the secretary of the All-India Students’ Organization. In 1982, he led a campaign aimed to protest rising tuition fees at Mumbai University.

• As the president of the Akhil Bhartiya Vanjara Youth Association, he decided to join the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Indian National Congress.

  

• In 1988, he assumed the position of chief secretary in the Maharashtra unit of NSUI. In 1991, he further rose in prominence and was appointed as the General Secretary of the NSUI at the national level.

• From 1988 to 1995, he also served as an assistant labour officer at Kores India Limited in Thane. In 1996, his political career took another significant leap as he assumed the role of president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress.

  

• He later went on become an MLA and Maharashtra Cabinet Minister in different governments including the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan and Uddhav Thackeray.

  

• He is a staunch supporter of NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar. When Pawar resigned from the post of NCP Chief, Awhad criticised Pawar’s decision and quit his position as National General Secretary. He talked about it in an interview and said,
  

  For several decades, we have been staunch followers of Sharad Pawar. All along, Pawar has been saying that the people’s mandate is very important in a democracy. Without consulting senior party leaders, Pawar unilaterally quit the party post. In my opinion, Pawar’s decision is against his own principles. Under such circumstances, I too have decided to quit the party post. Pawar is the main link of opposition parties across the country, and we feel he should reconsider his decision and withdraw his resignation” ^[16]The Times of India

  

  

• Through his NGO Sangharsh, he organizes the Dahi Handi competitions annually on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami.

  

• He has a strong affinity for animals and birds and is an avid dog lover.
  

  

  

• He shares good relationships with various Bollywood actors including Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. When he was the Horticulture Minister of Maharashtra, he roped in Amitabh Bachchan to promote the state’s horticulture practices.
  

  

  

• His daughter, Natasha Awhad, got married to her school-time friend, Allan Patel, who is a Christian, in a simple marriage registration ceremony at his home on 7 December 2021. ^[17]The Times of India

  

• `He regularly goes to the gym and workouts to maintain his fitness.