Arvind Ganpat Sawant (born 31 December 1951) is an Indian politician from the Shiv Sena (UBT) party who have served as Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises from 30 May 2019 to 11 November 2019. He is Member of Lok Sabha since 2014. On 11 November 2019, Sawant quit as union minister in Modi government due to ongoing power tussle between Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena in follow up to 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election.[1]
Arvind Sawant | |
|---|---|
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| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 16 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Milind Deora |
| Constituency | Mumbai South |
| Leader of Shiv Sena (UBT) in the Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 04 June 2024 | |
| Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises | |
| In office 30 May 2019 – 11 November 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Anant Geete |
| Succeeded by | Prakash Javadekar |
| Member of Legislative Council, Maharashtra | |
| In office 2002–2010 | |
| Constituency | Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation |
| In office 1996–2002 | |
| Constituency | Nominated |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arvind Ganpat Sawant 31 December 1951 Sindhudurg, Bombay State, India |
| Political party | Shiv Sena (UBT) (since 2022) |
| Other political affiliations | Shiv Sena (until 2022) |
| Spouse | Anuya Sawant |
| Residence | Mumbai |
| Website | Arvind Sawant |
| Source: [[1]] | |
Early life
editSawant was born on 31 December 1951[2] to Ganpat Pandurag and Aashalata Ganpat Sawant. He has received a B. Sc. degree from Bhavan's College of Mumbai.[2] His family are middle-class. Prior to joining politics, he worked as an engineer with the state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, the largest landline provider in Mumbai and Delhi.[3][4][5]
Political career
editEarly politics
editIn 1968, Sawant started his political career with Shiv Sena as a 'gat pramukh', the lowest rank of the party hierarchy. During this time, he worked as a polling agent and also participated in various protests which were organized by the party. He also joined Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti, which worked to demand jobs for the local people.[5]
Electoral politics
editIn 1995, Sawant took voluntary retirement and joined Shiv Sena.[5] In 1996, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council.[6] In the council, he raised issues pertaining to slum development, demanded prominence for Marathi language, and demanded housing for the mill workers. Although he managed to get elected to the council twice, he lost the election during his third attempt as the party was short of numbers in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.[4] In 2010, he was made the deputy leader and the official spokesperson of the party. During his tenure as the party spokesperson, he defended the party in news channel debates at a time when the party was criticised for its policy on migrants to Mumbai.[4]
In the 2014 Indian general election, the party announced that Sawant would contest from the Mumbai South constituency. He was considered a "weak candidate" by India Today compared to his main competitor, Milind Deora of the Indian National Congress party.[4] Sawant defeated Deora by a margin of approximately 120,000 votes.[7] His attendance record in the Lok Sabha was more than 90%.[4] He was also one of the members who presented the highest number of private-member bills.[4] He served as a member of the Estimates Committee, Standing committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and Committee on Estimates.[2]
In the 2019 Indian general election, Sawant defeated Deora by more than 100,000 votes.[8] Subsequently, he was made the minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.[9] On 11 November 2019 he had to resign from the Modi government cabinet because of power tussle between Shivsena and BJP. [10]
Personal life
editOn 25 May 1982, Sawant married Anuya Arvind Sawant. They have one son and one daughter.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant to quit as Union minister". The Times of India. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Sawant, Shri Arvind Ganpat". Lok Sabha. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "MTNL remains relevant for telecom, its sustainability important for customers, market: CMD". The Economic Times. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Arvind Sawant: A former government employee to a Union minister". India Today. 30 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ a b c "From managing poll booths to Union minister, Sena's Arvind Sawant gets into Modi cabinet". The Times of India. 30 May 2019. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Arvind Sawant: from MTNL officer to Union Minister". The Hindu Business Line. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Rude jolt for Congress stalwarts in Mumbai". The Hindu. 17 May 2014. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Know your Minister: Arvind Sawant - Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise". Money Control. 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Rashtrapati Bhavan: Press Comminique" (PDF). India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant announces resignation as minister, says no trust left | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. 11 November 2019.