Eknath Shinde: Thane’s ‘bhai’ is a family man, and a friend in need
When the current chief minister Eknath Shinde was merely a Member of Legislative Assembly a few years ago, senior journalist Millind Ballal interviewed him for a local channel
When the current chief minister Eknath Shinde was merely a Member of Legislative Assembly a few years ago, senior journalist Millind Ballal interviewed him for a local channel.
Interestingly, Shinde was present with his wife in the interview. “I asked him who your favourite heroine is. Shinde looked at his wife and blushed, and told me to move on to the next question. I kept on insisting if it is Madhuri Dixit, or Hema Malini or Waheeda Rehman; however, he merely kept blushing. This is the real Shinde for people who know him, a very unassuming, down-to-earth, and jovial person,” Ballal said.
He loves to have his tea with khari (puff), instead of buttered toast, while he has a soft corner for Thane’s famous Mamledar misal and vada pav, said the Shiv Sainiks who had worked with him for decades. The continental, Italian, or oriental cuisine is surely not for him; give him a plate of pakoras and he is happy, said a close friend of Shinde. He loves to watch old Hindi and Marathi movies and listen to the old songs.
For the world, he might be the chief minister of Maharashtra but for Thane residents, he is just their ‘bhai’, who on Thursday returned home victorious after 10 days. The Subhadeep Bunglow in Landmark Society, where he stays, was no less than a tourist attraction when he took oath. People took joy rides to Louiswadi to have a peek at the residence of the first family of Maharashtra. For the first time residents of Thane could boast about the chief minister being their neighbour.
Ballal said, “He is never out of his patent white kurta when he is with people. However, when he is not in public domain, the real Eknath Shinde loves to hang out in a T-shirt and track pants. He does small things like going to people’s homes on the occasion of pujas or Ganeshotsav and maintains a relation with everyone.”
A true people’s man, a friend narrated how he missed his army posting to keep a friend’s wish. “In the early 80s he got a call for an army posting and was asked to join the camp somewhere in the north. He packed his belongings and boarded a train from Thane station. He met a friend on the train who insisted that he attend his sister’s wedding in Punjab and did not take no for an answer. Bhai got down at Punjab to attend the wedding, though by the time he reached the camp, the opening was closed. He might not be a ‘sainik’, but he later became a Shiv Sainik.”
Shinde is a family man which was evident on Thursday when he was seen spending time with his grandson Rudransh.
Farming is his second love after politics.
Shashikant Kothekar, a senior journalist from Thane, said, “Shinde’s love for farming is well-known; every two to three days a month, he goes to his farms in Dare village of Satara. He is back in his favourite T-shirt and works on his farm like any other farmer. Earlier he used to go by road, after he became a minister, he used a chopper which would land on the Dare School ground.”
The family lived in an one BHK flat in Kisannagar in the early 90s while the children went to a school in Thane. It was when he was elected as an MLA that he looked for a plot in Lousiwadi and developed his own bungalow.
People who know Shinde claim it is difficult to know what he is thinking, as his face gives out no expressions. The friend said, “He will never raise his voice or insult anyone even if he is angry. For him people and family are more important. His wife Lata has stood with him through thick and thin. In 2001, when the couple lost two of their children, aged 9 and 11, the two were shattered; their son Shrikant was 14 years and equally affected by the tragedy. The late Anand Dighe took the family under his wings and thus for them he is their god.”
His bungalow is named Shubhdeep after his late children Shubhada and Deepesh Shinde; he stays with wife Lata, son Shrikant, daughter-in-law Vrushali, and grandson Rudransh.
In 2014, when Anand Paranjpe, walked out of Shiv Sena, Shrikant, who was in his final year of MS orthopaedic course, was given the reign of politics by Sena’s top brasses. Shrikant contested the elections three months before his final semester examination and appeared for the exam like every other student after being elected as a Member of Parliament from Kalyan constituency.
Shrikant, an orthopaedic surgeon, practised for a couple of years after being elected an MP. However, he later chose to focus on politics. He also started a medical scheme in the name of Balsaheb Thackeray wherein those who cannot afford proper medical care can avail of such a facility for free.
Apart from being an MP, he loves to hang out with his friends and watch movies; his wife Vrushali has completed her MBA.
Lata Shinde too is a homemaker and never much into politics. However, in the last three to four years, she has been seen more on the posters and has started small cultural events.