Aaditya Thackeray joins dad in Maharashtra ministry

PTI, Dec 30, 2019, 4:09 PM IST

Mumbai: Aaditya Thackeray, who became the first member of his family to take the poll plunge and was on Monday sworn in as a minister in the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance government led by his father, is expected to play a more important role in the government and party.

The 29-year-old won the October 21 Assembly polls with a thumping majority from Mumbai’s Worli constituency.

The Yuva Sena leader is now likely to make his party, which was rooted in the ‘sons of the soil’ agenda and later embraced the Hindutva ideology, more inclusive and broad-based.

In the run-up to the polls, he conducted several roadshows, foot marches and raised issues like cutting of trees in Aarey Colony and Mumbai’s nightlife and said he wants to make the constituency a “model of development”.

He also reached out to non-Marathi voters in the constituency to romp home a big win.

A pass out of the Bombay Scottish School in suburban Mahim, Aaditya is a graduate in English Literature from St Xavier’s College and has a law degree from KC College.

He has always managed to keep himself abreast of civic issues and concerns of youth in the state.

The Maharashtra government’s decision to ban plastic is partly credited to his campaign against the widespread use of the material.

He also proposed the revival of Mumbai’s nightlife by allowing malls and restaurants to be open all night. The young politician also sports a creative side like his grandfather, father, and uncle.

His grandfather, the late Bal Thackeray, who founded the Shiv Sena in 1966, was a cartoonist, an art shared by his estranged uncle Raj Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

His father, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, is a professional photographer and Aaditya shares his passion for photography.

His first book of poems, “My Thoughts in Black and White” was released in 2007 by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

Aaditya hit the headlines in 2010 for leading a protest against author Rohinton Mistry’s book “Such a Long Journey” in the University of Mumbai’s English Literature curriculum.

He tried to implement his plans for open gymnasiums in Mumbai’s open spaces. However, the plan ran into trouble as the gymnasiums were set up without the civic body’s approval.

Despite belonging to a political dynasty of sorts, he is the first in his family to become a member of the state legislature.

The Yuva Sena chief is a voracious reader, and has the ability to hold his own in debates about the metropolis and the state, and has a connect with the grassroots Sainiks.

Aaditya Thackeray joined politics in 2009 and since then has been actively working in the organization, building a cadre of new young leaders by being in the background.