Kshitij Thakur

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Kshitij Thakur
Kshitij thakur.jpg
Member of the Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
2009
Alma mater University of Mumbai
Harvard University
Stanford University
OccupationPolitician

Kshitij Thakur is an Indian politician, who is currently serving as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) representing Nalasopara constituency in the Maharashtra State Assembly, winning the seat third time consecutively since 2009. [2]

Contents

Thakur's father, Hitendra Thakur, is a four-time MLA from Vasai and is the president of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, a political party with a strong presence in the Vasai-Virar regions of Palghar district in Maharashtra. [3] [4]

Early life and education

Kshitij Thakur was born on 10 July 1983, in Virar area of Palghar district, Maharashtra, India. [5] Thakur holds an MBA degree from Mumbai University. He completed an executive course in Real estate management from Harvard University. [6] He later pursued further studies at Stanford University. [7] He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from Mumbai University. [6]

Political career

Kshitij Thakur started his political career in 2009, contesting from Nallasopara constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly after Vasai constituency was delimitated into Vasai, Nallasopara, and Boisar. He ran as a candidate from the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi party and won the election at the age of 26, with a margin of 40,782 votes. His opponents, Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, received the second and third-highest votes, respectively. Thakur's victory made him the youngest MLA from the state. [8] [9]

In the 2014 Vidhan Sabha elections, Thakur competed against Rajan Balkrishna Naik from the Bharatiya Janata Party. Thakur secured 1,13,566 votes, while Naik received 59,067 votes, resulting in Thakur's victory. The margin of Thakur's victory over Naik was 54,499 votes. [10] [11] [12]

2019 assembly election

Thakur won the 2009 and 2014 elections by a significant margin. However, in the 2019 Assembly Elections, he faced strong competition from Shiv Sena candidate Pradeep Sharma, a former Mumbai Police officer and encounter specialist. The pre-poll campaign generated considerable interest in the Nallasopara seat, with Sharma, putting up a strong challenge against Thakur. [13] [14]

During the election campaign, both candidates made allegations against each other, which drew attention to the contest as one of the most closely-watched political battles in the state. [15] Several popular actors, including Govinda, Vinay Anand, Bhalchandra Kadam, and Shreya Bugade, endorsed Thakur during their campaign, while BJP MP Satyapal Singh campaigned in the support of Sharma. [7] Kshitij also secured the backing of Divya Salaskar, the daughter of late city police official Vijay Salaskar who died fighting during the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack. [16] Kshitij Thakur won the election by a margin of 43,724 votes over Sharma. [17] [18]

Work

During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, Kshitij Thakur organized food and ration distribution for those in need. To maintain social distancing, smaller WhatsApp groups were created to connect with nearby kitchens. [19]

In September 2020, on Teacher's Day, Thakur launched the 'School at Home' campaign to bring education to the underprivileged areas of Palghar district, Mumbai. The campaign involves partnering with professors to record syllabus content from Class I to Class X in English and Marathi languages. The videos were released through local cable networks with the help of social organizations, in association with the Vishnu Vaman Thakur Charitable Trust. [20]

In September 2020, he launched the 'Work From My Office' initiative, providing free office space with Wi-Fi and computer facilities for people in Virar, Vasai, Nala Sopara, and surrounding areas. The initiative aimed to address the challenges faced by commuters during the lockdown. Around 30,000 workstations were made available, with physical distancing, frequent sanitization, and temperature-oxygen checks implemented. The initiative received positive feedback from the community. [21] [22] [23] He also converted Viva College in Virar West and Viva Institute of Technology in Virar East, both run by his trust Vishnu Waman Thakur Charitable Trust, into quarantine and isolation centers. [24]

In August 2021, he was appointed as the President of the Governing Body of Maharashtra for the Khelo Masters Games Foundation (KMGF), a non-profit organization that aims to promote sports in India. [25]

In 2019, Kshitij Thakur received the Times Power Women and Men Award from The Times Group for his contributions to education, industry and infrastructure development, sports, healthcare, and employment generation in the Vasai-Virar Region of Maharashtra. [26] [27]

Personal life

Thakur is the son of Hitendra Thakur, a four-time MLA and founder of Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi, a political party, and Pravina Thakur, who served as the first woman mayor of Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation. [28] [29]

On 29 January 2012, Thakur married Prachi Galvankar, his childhood sweetheart, in a mass wedding ceremony held in Virar, Maharashtra. The wedding was attended by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, then Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar, as well as Manikrao Thakre, Sanjeev Naik, Vasant Davkhare, Ramdas Kadam, Gopal Shetty, Sanjay Raut, Baliram Sukur Jadhav and several film personalities, including Govinda, Aditya Pancholi, Johnny Lever, Milind Gunaji also attended the ceremony. [1] [30]

Controversies

In March 2013, Thakur was suspended from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for allegedly physically assaulting a police officer within the premises of the state assembly. [31] However, Thakur denied assaulting the officer. [32] The home minister R. R. Patil later announced that the police officer was suspended for misbehaving and using foul language against the legislator. [33] [34]

Related Research Articles

Mira Road is a suburb in the northern part of the western suburbs of Mumbai which stretches from Bandra to Bhayandar in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Under Police Jurisdiction of Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar Police Commissionerate. Mira Road is situated in the north-western portion of Salsette Island, Maharashtra state, India. Mira Road has a large North Indians population followed by Gujarati ,Marathi along with other population groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palghar</span> Town in Maharashtra, India

Palghar is a town in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, India and a municipal council. It is in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and since 2014 it has been the administrative capital of the Palghar district. Palghar lies on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway in the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail corridor. The town is located about 87 kilometers north of Mumbai, about 35 kilometers north of Virar and about 24 kilometers west of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway at Manor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virar</span> City in Maharashtra, India

Virar is a coastal city in taluka Vasai and district of Palghar, in India's Maharashtra state. It is clubbed into Vasai-Virar city, administered by Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation. It lies in south part of Palghar District in Vasai Taluka and north to the city of Mumbai. It is an important part of Palghar District because Palghar is the outermost part of northern side of Mumbai Metropolitan Region and comes under Police Jurisdiction of Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar Police Commissionerate.

Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi is a regional political party in the Vasai-Virar region of Maharashtra. It was originally known as Vasai Vikas Aaghadi. The party is led and founded by Hitendra Thakur who was a one-time member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on an Indian National Congress ticket and two time independent MLA before founding the party.

Pradeep Sharma is a former officer in the police force of Mumbai, India. Sharma attained notability as an "encounter specialist" with the Mumbai Encounter Squad and was involved with the deaths of as many as 312 criminals. On 31 August 2008 he was suspended from the Mumbai police on charges of corruption but was reinstated on 16 August 2017 after he was proven innocent of those charges. Sharma resigned from Mumbai police in July 2019 after a 35 year long career. He officially joined the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra on September 13, 2019 and contested from Nalasopara seat in the Maharashtra assembly polls but lost to Bahujan Vikash Aghadi's candidate Kshitij Hitendra Thakur by a margin of 43,729 votes.

Hitendra Vishnu Thakur is an Indian politician from Virar, Maharashtra, India. He is the president of Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi, political party in the Vasai-Virar region of Maharashtra, India. He is the incumbent Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vasai in Palghar district of Maharashtra. His family controls the Viva Group of Companies and Viva Trust which owns the Viva College located in Virar.

The Marathi-Konkani languages are the mainland Southern Indic languages, spoken in Maharashtra and the Konkan region of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasai-Virar</span> Place in Maharashtra, India

Vasai-Virar is an agglomeration of four previously governed municipal councils: Vasai (Bassein), Virar, Nallasopara and Navghar-Manikpur, as well as a few towns to the east and west of the urban area. It lies in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India.

Palghar Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies of Maharashtra state in western India. This constituency was created on 19 February 2008 as a part of the implementation of the Presidential notification based on the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission of India constituted on 12 July 2002. The seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes. It first held elections in 2009 and its first member of parliament (MP) was Baliram Sukur Jadhav of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi. As of the 2014 election, Chintaman Vanaga of the Bharatiya Janata Party represented this constituency in the Lok Sabha. After sudden demise of Chintaman Vanaga, Bharatiya Janata Party gave ticket to Rajendra Gavit for by-elections.

Baliram Sukur Jadhav is an Indian politician. He represented Palghar in the 15th Lok Sabha and he is a member of the Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi political party, headed by Hitendra Thakur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maharashtra Police</span> Law enforcement agency responsible for Maharashtra State

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The Thane Municipal Corporation Transport Service, operating under the name "Thane Municipal Transport (T.M.T.)" is the transport wing of Thane Municipal Corporation, which operates many bus lines in the Thane metropolitan area. These buses are called Thane Municipal Transport or T.M.T bus. TMT bus serves the entire Thane City. It also has operation outside city limits into neighboring Mumbai, Bhiwandi, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan Dombivali, Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai Virar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virar railway station</span> Railway station in Maharashtra, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation</span> Local civic body in Vasai-Virar, Maharashtra, India

Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) is the civic body that governs areas and villages in Vasai-Virar taluka in Maharashtra, India comprising the most populated part of Palghar district. According to the 2011 census, it is the fifth largest city in Maharashtra with a population of more than 1.3 million. The city is located 50 km north of Mumbai, on the north bank of Vasai Creek, part of the estuary of the Ulhas River. It was formed on 3 July 2010 by combining four municipal councils and 53 gram panchayats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maharashtra Legislative Assembly</span> Lower house of legislature in Maharashtra, India

The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the legislature of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated in the Nariman Point area of South Mumbai in the capital Mumbai. Presently, 288 members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected from the single-seat constituencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palghar district</span> District Of Maharashtra in India

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References

  1. 1 2 "Legislator among 1,034 couples in Maharashtra's biggest mass marriage". Deccan Herald . 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Hitendra Thakur's son Kshitij defeats encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma from Nalasopara". Mumbai Mirror . 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  3. ↑ Vijapurkar, Mahesh (1 July 2015). "How to build a political stronghold: A case study of the Thakurs of the Vasai Virar civic body". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Biraia Jaiswal, Pooja (19 October 2019). "A shot at power". The Week. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Kshitij Hitendra Thakur". Ourneta.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Kshitij Hitendra Thakur (Winner)". Myneta. 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 Marpakwar, Chaitanya (20 October 2019). "Nalasopara's MLA ropes in stars to counter Sena threat". Mumbai Mirror . Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "Nalla Sopara votes in state's youngest MLA". Mumbai Mirror . 23 October 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  9. ↑ Atalye, Sudhaanshu (19 November 2013). "It's Thakur junior in Nalasopara now". DNA India. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Maharashtra Election 2014, Kshitij Hitendra Thakur (Winner)". Myneta. 2014. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "Maharashtra Assembly polls 2014". India Today. 19 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  12. ↑ "Hitendra Thakur's son Kshitij defeats encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma". Mumbai Mirror . 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "Battle for Nalasopara – Pradeep Sharma vs Kshitij Thakur". Mumbai Mirror . 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  14. ↑ Shivadekar, Sanjeev (19 October 2019). "A shootout of a different kind". Mid Day. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  15. ↑ Rawal, Swapnil (2 October 2019). "In Nallasopara, it is 'encounter specialist' vs strongman". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Mumbai: Vijay Salaskar's kin decides to back Kshitij Thakur in Nalasopara". The Times of India . 19 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "Former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma loses by over 43,000 votes". India Today. 24 March 2022. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  18. ↑ "नालासोपाऱ्यात प्रदीप शर्मा पराभूत, क्षितिज ठाकूर यांनी मारली बाजी" (in Marathi). Loksatta. 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  19. ↑ Chandrasekharan, Gitanjali (28 June 2020). "Coronavirus outbreak: Can politicians work from home?". Mid Day. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  20. ↑ Bose, Mrityunjay (5 September 2020). "Kshitij Thakur launches 'School at Home' campaign for underprivileged areas in Palghar district". Deccan Herald . Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  21. ↑ Bose, Mrityunjay (23 September 2020). "Work from my office: BVA MLA lets people work, study from his party office for free". Deccan Herald . Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  22. ↑ Adhav, Akshay (24 September 2020). "वसई-विरारकरांसाठी 'वर्क फ्रॉम माय ऑफिस' योजना, आमदार क्षितीज ठाकूर यांचा पुढाकार" (in Marathi). TV9. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  23. ↑ "वसई-विरारमध्ये 'वर्क फ्रॉम माय ऑफिस'; आमदार क्षितिज ठाकूर यांचा पुढाकार" (in Marathi). Sarkarnama. 25 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  24. ↑ Bose, Mrityunjay (22 June 2020). "As COVID-19 cases spike, quarantine facilities augmented in Maharashtra's Palghar". Deccan Herald . Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  25. ↑ Gupta, Gaurav (12 August 2021). "Kshitij Thakur named president of Maharashtra Khelo Masters' Games Foundation". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  26. ↑ "MLA Kshitij Thakur Awarded with Times power Award of the Year". HP Live News. 19 August 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  27. ↑ "Times Power Women and Men Awards Honour Achievers; Shilpa Shetty, Ayushmann Khurrana In Attendance". The Economic Times. 27 August 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  28. ↑ "Hitendra Thakur bows out, makes way for wife, son". Mumbai Mirror . 27 September 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  29. ↑ "वसई-विरार महापालिकेच्या महापौरपदी प्रविणा ठाकूर विराजमान" (in Marathi). Divya Bhaskar. Dainik Bhaskar. 29 June 2015. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  30. ↑ "MLA ties knot at mass marriage in Virar". DNA India. 30 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  31. ↑ "5 Maharashtra Legislators suspended for thrashing cop inside assembly". NDTV . 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  32. ↑ "Maha MLAs thrash cop for fining lawmaker's driver". Hindustan Times. 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  33. ↑ "Cop beaten up by MLAs suspended". The Hindu . 25 March 2013. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  34. ↑ "Traffic cop suspended for misbehaving with MLA". Indian Express. 19 March 2013.
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