Eknath Shinde

Eknath Sambhaji Shinde (born 9 February 1964) is an Indian politician who has served as the 10th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra alongside Ajit Pawar under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He is the chairperson of Shiv Sena since February 2023 and was the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 30 June 2022 to 5 December 2024. He is also the Member of Legislative Assembly for the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency of Thane, Maharashtra, since 2009 and was formerly the MLA of Thane constituency from 2004 to 2009. Shinde rose to prominence in June 2022 after leading a factional split within the Shiv Sena party, leading to the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis that resulted in the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government in Maharashtra. Shinde and a group of rebel MLAs withdrew support from the MVA, pledging support to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) instead, which was in opposition at the time. After the resignation of the-then Chief Minister and leader of the MVA, Uddhav Thackeray without facing the floor test, Eknath Shinde was sworn-in as Chief Minister on June 30, 2022. In February 2023, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ruled in favor of Shinde’s faction, granting it the official Shiv Sena name and the party symbol, based on its legislative majority and the 2019 electoral performance. The Thackeray faction challenged the defection before the Supreme Court of India and sought disqualification of the rebel MLAs. In May 2023, the Court delivered a unanimous verdict declaring the decisions of the then Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari to demand a floor test was illegal. While the Court did not reverse the ECI’s decision or disqualify the MLAs directly, it held that the then Maharashtra Legislative Speaker, Rahul Narwekar's recognition of Shinde’s faction as the original Shiv Sena was not in accordance with constitutional principles. Shinde served as Chief Minister till the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, in coalition with the Mahayuti alliance. In the 2024 Assembly elections, the BJP was voted at the largest political party. Following the election, Shinde was sworn in to the role of Deputy Chief Minister, with Fadnavis returning to the role as Chief Minister for his third term.