Manohar Joshi: From Mayor to First Non-Congress Maharashtra Chief Minister

The political journey of deceased Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, who passed away on Friday after a brief period of illness, has been a rollercoaster ride. Starting his career as a low profile officer of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Joshi hogged headlines after being elected as the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Maharashtra when the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition came to power in 1995.

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi passed away on Friday at 86, two days after he was hospitalised at the Hinduja Hospital. Family sources said that Joshi's last rites will be performed at Shivaji Park crematorium in Dadar area.

Let us have a look at the life and political career of Joshi.

Early Life and Education: Manohar Joshi was born on 2 December 1937 in the Marathi-speaking Brahmin family of Gajanan Krishna Joshi and Saraswati Gajanan in Nandavi of Raigad district in Maharashtra. After doing MA in Law, Joshi joined Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as an officer, but later set up the Kohinoor technical/vocational training institute with the idea of an institute for semi–skilled youths to offer training as electrician, plumber, TV/radio/scooter repairman, photography.

Eventually, he started multiple branches of Kohinoor in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, etc., and later forayed into construction and another capital-oriented business. Manohar Joshi also founded the Kohinoor Business School and Kohinoor-IMI School of Hospitality Management in Khandala, Maharashtra. Later, he took the Chancellorship of Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth.

Politics: An established businessman by then, Joshi began his political career by being elected to the Legislative Council from the Shiv Sena. He served three terms from 1972 till 1989 and became the Mayor of Mumbai during 1976 to 1977. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from a Shiv Sena ticket in 1990.

Joshi became the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Maharashtra when the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition came to power in 1995. Technically, Sharad Pawar led the first non-Congress government in Maharashtra in 1978 as a member of Indian National Congress (Socialist).

Joshi was promoted to the Lok Sabha when he won from Central Mumbai in the 1999 General Elections. He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2002 to 2004 during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) administration.