Harshvardhan Jadhav is an Indian politician who formerly represented

Kannad Kannad is a Taluka and a Municipal Council City in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kannad has located 58 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. It is located 24 km away from the Ellora Caves and Grish ...

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (ISO: ''Mahārāṣṭra Vidhāna Sabhā'') is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India. It consists of 288 members directly elected from single-seat constituenci ...

. He has been a member of

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (translation: Maharashtra Reformation Army; MNS) is a Regionalist Indian organisation based in the state of Maharashtra and operates on the ideology of Hindutva and Marathi Manus. It was founded on 9 March 2006 ...

, Shiv Swarajya Paksha at various times in his political career and later joined

Bharat Rashtra Samithi The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (; BRS), formerly known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi ( TRS), is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in the state of Telangana and currently the primary opposition party in the state. It was founde ...

(BRS).

Political career

Coming from a political family, Jadhav entered politics somewhat reluctantly in 2004, losing the Assembly election that year as an Independent. He was elected to Vidhan Sabha in 2009 from the

Assembly Constituency as a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena nominee. He won the seat for the consecutive term in 2014, but this time he was with Shiv Sena. Jadhav contested 2019 Lok Sabha election as an independent from

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

. Jadhav gained sizeable Maratha support, which resulted in Shiv Sena losing the seat after having won it for 4 consecutive elections. In the aftermath, his house was pelted with stones by Shiv Sena supporters for his comments about

Uddhav Thackeray Uddhav Bal Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022 and the Leader of the House, Maharashtra Legislative Ass ...

. While he had floated his own party ''"Shiv Swarajya Paksha/Shiv Swarajya Bahujan Paksh"'', he contested as an ''Independent''. He later announced that the party will continue fielding candidates in upcoming state elections. Jadhav rejoined MNS in 2020 and was tasked with playing an influential role in

Marathwada Marathwada () is a geographical region of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurang ...

politics. He is known for his activism for Maratha reservation and support for Maratha Kranti Morcha. In May 2020, Jadhav announced that he has retired from politics and would support his wife to further her political ambitions.

Controversies

In 2011, Jadhav was involved in assault case where he claimed he was assaulted by the police. A counter-case was filed by the police alleging he was the one who instigated the attacks. Two cops were suspended after the incidence and in 2017 Jadhav sentenced to one year in jail. In 2014, He was again in the news for slapping a security officer. In March 2020, a case was registered against Jadhav for verbally assaulting a person from Scheduled caste under the atrocities act. His camp denied allegations and called the charges politically motivated. In Dec 2020, the Bopodi Police station lodged an FIR against him for attempted murder in a road rage incident in Aundh, Pune in which he was later granted bail and the opposing were charged under the same.

Personal life

Jadhav is the son of Late Raibhan Jadhav, a politician from

Indian national congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and also social worker who was locally known as ''Krishi Maharshi'' for his agricultural work in the kannad constituency. After series of video posts over previous months, Jadhav filed for divorce in August 2020 citing mental anguish.

Positions held

* 2009: Elected to

as member of

* 2014: Re-elected to

, as member of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jadhav, Harshvardhan Maharashtra MLAs 2009–2014 Maharashtra MLAs 2014–2019 Living people Shiv Sena politicians People from Aurangabad district, Maharashtra Marathi politicians Maharashtra Navnirman Sena politicians 1978 births Bharat Rashtra Samithi politicians