Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, also known as Raosaheb Shekhawat, is a politician in the Indian state of Maharashtra. He is a former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Amravati constituency of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Rao Sahab shekhawat | |
|---|---|
| Member of Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2009–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Sunil Deshmukh |
| Succeeded by | Sunil Deshmukh |
| Constituency | Amravati |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Parent(s) | Pratibha Patil (mother) Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat (father) |
Family edit
Shekhawat is the son of Pratibha Patil, the former President of India, and Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, a former MLA and First Mayor of Amravati.[1] He has a sister.[2]
Politics edit
Shekhawat, who has a son and a daughter, was a car dealer in Mumbai from 1990 until he became a politician.[3] Prior to being elected to the state legislature in 2009, Shekhawat had worked for the Indian National Congress (INC) for a decade. He had been vice-president of the Amravati District Congress Committee and secretary of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, as well as having involvement with the Seva Dal and Youth Congress.[4] He had been looking for an opportunity to be elected since 2004.[3]
Shekhawat won the Amravati Vidhan Sabha seat in the 2009 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections. Standing as a candidate of the INC, he defeated the incumbent, Sunil Deshmukh, by 5614 votes. There were accusations that Shekhawat's family connections had influenced the INC decision to select him as a candidate, which had in turn caused Deshmukh - previously himself an INC representative - to stand as an independent. Shekhawat's mother and father had in the past been elected to represent the town in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha, respectively.[5]
Shekhawat again contested the Amravati seat in the 2014 elections, as also did Deshmukh. On this occasion, it was Deshmukh, now standing as a candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party, who emerged as winner.
References edit
- ^ "Rashtrapati Bhavan to lend 155 gifts to Amravati museum". Business Standard. PTI. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "Ex Governor of Rajasthan". Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Secretariate. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ a b Naithani, Shobhita (10 October 2009). "Impatient Inheritor". Tehelka Magazine. Vol. 6, no. 40. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Rodrigues, Rommel (11 October 2009). "Another precedent". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "President son wins close match". The Telegraph. Calcutta. 23 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.