Anil Deshmukh. (file photo)
Former Maharashtra minister and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh was seriously injured when his vehicle was stoned in Nagpur on Monday night. Police said Anil Deshmukh was returning to Katol after a public meeting in Narkhed village around 8 pm when this incident occurred. According to police, stones were pelted at Anil Deshmukh’s car near Belphata on Jalalkheda road near Katol in which he was injured and was immediately shifted to Katol Civil Hospital.
This incident occurred on the last day of campaigning for the assembly elections to be held in Maharashtra on November 20. Anil Deshmukh’s son Salil Deshmukh is contesting from Katol assembly constituency on the NCP (SP) ticket. His contest is against BJP’s Charan Singh Thakur. Let’s know the entire political journey of Anil Deshmukh.
He became an MLA and later was a direct minister.
Anil Deshmukh, who first came to the Assembly as an independent MP in 1995, participated in the coalition government. Deshmukh was entrusted with the departments of School Education, Higher and Technical Education and Cultural Affairs. When Anil Deshmukh was Culture Minister in the coalition government, he started the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’ award to honor people who have done glorious work for Maharashtra in various fields.
Deshmukh Katol Fort
Katol assembly constituency in Nagpur is considered Anil Deshmukh’s stronghold. NCP was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999. By that time, leaders of many parties, including Congress, had joined the new party along with Sharad Pawar. Anil Deshmukh was also one such leader. Soon after, in the assembly elections held in 1999, Anil Deshmukh once again became MLA from Katol. Later in the year 2004, he again recorded a hat-trick by beating the NCP in Katolamadhi.
Until now Anil Deshmukh holds the ministerial position.
Except between 2014 and 2019, Anil Deshmukh has been a permanent minister. After joining NCP, he also assumed responsibility for important departments.
- 1995 (Coalition Government) – Cabinet Minister, School Education, Higher and Technical Education, Cultural Affairs
- 1999 (former government) – Minister of State, School Education, Information and Public Relations
- 2001 (Central Government) – Cabinet Minister, State Administration of Excise, Food and Drugs
- 2004 (Central Government) – Cabinet Minister, Public Works
- 2009 (Central Government) – Minister of Cabinet, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection
Defeated in the 2014 elections
In the 2014 elections, Anil Deshmukh lost to Katol to Ashish Deshmukh, who contested for the BJP. Now Filal Ashish has also returned to Congress. In the 2019 assembly elections, the NCP made Anil Deshmukh its candidate from Katol and he won.
Some decisions taken by Anil Deshmukh when he was minister were discussed across the state. Whether it was the case of forcibly singing the national anthem in theaters when he was Minister of School Education and Culture, or the boycott when he was Minister of Food and Drug Administration. Also, the seven kilometer long Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai was completed when Deshmukh was Public Works Minister.
He surprised everyone by becoming Minister of the Interior.
In 2019, when the Uddhav Thackeray government announced its cabinet, all eyes were on who would fill the post of Home Minister. NCP’s Katol MLA Anil Deshmukh was given the charge of Home Minister. On the one hand, when stalwarts like Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse Patil were present in the NCP, Sharad Pawar gave the post of Home Minister to Anil Deshmukh.
He had to resign from the position of Minister of the Interior.
Anil Deshmukh was the Home Minister of the state during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. While Minister of the Interior, he was accused of financial irregularities, which also included allegations of extortion and money laundering. Due to these accusations he had to resign from the position of Minister of the Interior and was also arrested. During his arrest he also remained in prison for 14 months. Former state home minister Anil Deshmukh was arrested by ED. He was granted bail on October 4, 2022. Following this, on December 28, 2022, he was released from Arthur Road Jail.
Name emerged in Antilia case
In February 2021, a four-wheeler packed with explosives was found outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence, Antilia. When the then opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis raised this issue in the assembly session, it caught the attention of the state and the country. Subsequent developments show that the threads of the Antilia case first reached Mumbai Police Crime Branch officer Sachin Waje, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh and then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh himself. Meanwhile, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh had alleged that Anil Deshmukh had been demanding Rs 100 crore every month.
