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Balasaheb Thorat
Balasaheb Thorat
Leader of Congress Legislature Party ; Maharashtra Legislature
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 24 November 2019
National President Indian National Congress	Sonia Gandhi; Mallikarjun Kharge;
Preceded by	Prithviraj Chavan
Leader of the Opposition ; Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
	Additional Charge
	In office; 18 July 2023 – 3 August 2023
Governor	Ramesh Bais;
Deputy	Himself;
Chief Minister	Eknath Shinde;
Dy Chief Minister	Devendra Fadnavis (First); Ajit Pawar (Second);
Speaker of the House	Rahul Narwekar;
Preceded by	Ajit Pawar; Jitendra Awhad (Acting);
Succeeded by	Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar;
Deputy Leader of the Opposition ; (Maharashtra Legislative Assembly)
	In office; 4 July 2022 – 3 August 2023
Governor	Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Ramesh Bais;
Chief Minister	Eknath Shinde;
Dy Chief Minister	Devendra Fadnavis (First); Ajit Pawar (From 02 July 2023) (Second);
Leader of the Opposition	Ajit Pawar; Jitendra Awhad (Acting); Himself (Additional Charge);
Speaker of the House	Rahul Narwekar;
Preceded by	Sudhir Mungantiwar;
Succeeded by	Jitendra Awhad (NCP); Ajay Choudhari (SHS(UTB));
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
	In office; 1985 – 26 November 2024
Preceded by	B. J. Khatal-Patil
Succeeded by	Amol Khatal
Parliamentary group	Indian National Congress
Constituency	Sangamner
Cabinet Minister ; Government of Maharashtra
	In office; 30 December 2019 – 29 June 2022
Minister	Revenue;
Governor	Bhagat Singh Koshyari;
Cabinet	Thackeray ministry
Chief Minister	Uddhav Thackeray
Dy Chief Minister	Ajit Pawar
Guardian Minister	Dhule District Additional Charge;
Preceded by	Himself (Acting);
Succeeded by	Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil
	Incharge
	In office; 28 November 2019 – 30 December 2019
Minister	Revenue; Energy; Medical Education; School Education; Animal Husbandry; Dairy Development; Fisheries Department;
Governor	Bhagat Singh Koshyari;
Cabinet	Thackeray ministry
Chief Minister	Uddhav Thackeray
Preceded by	Chandrakant Patil ; (Revenue Ministry); Chandrashekhar Bawankule ; (Energy Ministry); Girish Mahajan ; (Medical Education Ministry); Ashish Shelar ; (School Education Ministry); Ram Shinde ; (Animal Husbandry Ministry); Ram Shinde ; (Dairy Development Ministry); Anil Sukhdevrao Bonde ; (Fisheries Department Ministry);
Succeeded by	Himself ; (Revenue Ministry); Nitin Raut ; (Energy Ministry); Amit Deshmukh ; (Medical Education Ministry); Varsha Gaikwad ; (School Education Ministry); Sunil Chhatrapal Kedar ; (Animal Husbandry Ministry); Sunil Chhatrapal Kedar ; (Dairy Development Ministry); Aslam Shaikh ; (Fisheries Department Ministry);
President of Maharashtra ; Pradesh Congress Committee
	In office; 7 July 2019 – 5 February 2021
National President Indian National Congress	Sonia Gandhi
Preceded by	Ashok Chavan
Succeeded by	Nana Patole
Secretary of Maha Vikas Aghadi
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 26 November 2019
President	Uddhav Thackeray
Chairperson	Sharad Pawar
Preceded by	Position established
Cabinet Minister ; Government of Maharashtra
	In office; 11 November 2010 – 26 September 2014
Minister	Revenue; Vimukta Jati; Food, Civil Supplies; Consumer Affairs; State Border Defence (First);
Governor	Kateekal Sankaranarayanan; Om Prakash Kohli (additional charge); C. Vidyasagar Rao;
Cabinet	Prithviraj Chavan ministry
Chief Minister	Prithviraj Chavan
Dy Chief Minister	Ajit Pawar
Guardian Minister	Ahmednagar District; Buldhana District; Nagpur District;
Preceded by	Narayan Rane ; (Revenue Ministry); Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil ; (Vimukta Jati Ministry); Anil Deshmukh ; (Food, Civil Supplies Ministry); Anil Deshmukh ; (Consumer Protection Ministry); Patangrao Kadam ; (State Border Defence Ministry);
Succeeded by	Eknath Khadse ; (Revenue Ministry); Mahadev Jankar ; (Vimukta Jati Ministry); Girish Bapat ; (Food, Civil Supplies Ministry); Girish Bapat ; (Consumer Protection Ministry); Eknath Khadse ; (State Border Defence Ministry);
	In office; 7 November 2009 – 9 November 2010
Minister	Agriculture; Soil and Water Conservation; School Education; Marathi Language;
Governor	S. C. Jamir; K. Sankaranarayanan;
Cabinet	Second Ashok Chavan ministry
Chief Minister	Ashok Chavan
Dy Chief Minister	Chhagan Bhujbal
Guardian Minister	Ahmednagar District; Kolhapur District; Latur District;
Preceded by	Himself ; (Agriculture Ministry); Himself ; (Soil and Water Conservation Ministry); Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil ; (School Education Ministry); Vijaykumar Krishnarao Gavit ; (Marathi Language Ministry);
Succeeded by	Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil ; (Agriculture Ministry); Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar ; (Soil and Water Conservation Ministry); Rajendra Darda ; (School Education Ministry); Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil ; (Marathi Language Ministry);
	In office; 8 December 2008 – 6 November 2009
Minister	Agriculture; Protocol; Soil and Water Conservation;
Governor	S. C. Jamir;
Cabinet	First Ashok Chavan ministry
Chief Minister	Ashok Chavan
Dy Chief Minister	Chhagan Bhujbal
Preceded by	Himself ; (Agriculture Ministry); Himself ; (Protocol Ministry); Surupsingh Hirya Naik ; (Soil and Water Conservation Ministry);
Succeeded by	Himself ; (Agriculture Ministry); Ashok Chavan CM; (Protocol Ministry); Himself ; (Soil and Water Conservation Ministry);
	In office; 1 November 2004 – 4 December 2008
Minister	Agriculture; Protocol;
Cabinet	Second Deshmukh ministry
Chief Minister	Vilasrao Deshmukh
Dy Chief Minister	R. R. Patil
Preceded by	Sushilkumar Shinde CM; (Agriculture Ministry); Ashok Chavan ; (Protocol Ministry);
Succeeded by	Himself ; (Agriculture Ministry); Himself ; (Protocol Ministry);
Minister of State ; Government of Maharashtra
	In office; 18 January 2003 – 4 November 2004
Minister	Agriculture; Horticulture; Socially and Educationally Backward Classes;
Cabinet	Sushilkumar Shinde ministry
Chief Minister	Sushilkumar Shinde
Dy Chief Minister	Chhagan Bhujbal (2003); Vijaysingh Mohite-Patil (2003-04);
	In office; 18 October 1999 – 16 January 2003
Minister	Public Works (Including Public Undertakings); Command Area Development; Information Technology;
Cabinet	First Deshmukh ministry
Chief Minister	Vilasrao Deshmukh
Dy Chief Minister	Chhagan Bhujbal
Personal details
Born	Vijay Bhausaheb Thorat; 7 February 1953 (age 71)
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Indian National Congress
Other political; affiliations	Independent
Children	3 daughters & 1 son
Residence(s)	Jorve, Taluka Sangamner, District Ahmednagar, Tapalcha Patta, Sudarshan, 7 Shivjinagar, Sangamner--422605
Education	Fergusson College B.A, ILS Law College, Pune L.L.B
Nickname	Vijay

Vijay Bhausaheb Thorat (Marathi pronunciation: [baːɭaːsaːɦeb t̪ʰoɾaːt̪], born 7 February 1953), known popularly as Balasaheb Thorat, is an Indian politician who served as the revenue minister in Maharashtra state. He also served as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. ^[1] Thorat is a senior member of the Congress Party. He is an MLA from Sangamner constituency.

Thorat is a key figure in the cooperative movement and is the founder of a milk co-operative and former president of the Sangamner District and State Cooperative Bank.

He is recognised for his work in Sangamner taluka and Akole taluka. He has founded cooperative educational institutions in Sangamner. He is currently (as of July 2024) President of Amrutvahini College of Engineering.^[2] Previously, he served as Minister of Agriculture and as Minister of Revenue, and Khar Lands in the Government of Maharashtra. ^[3]^[4]^[5]

Early life

Thorat was born on 7 February 1953 to late Bhausaheb Thorat. He was named as Vijay. His father Bhausaheb Thorat was a peasant leader in Maharashtra and a one-time legislator from Sangamner constituency. Bhausaheb Thorat defeated the then political heavyweight of Maharashtra B. J. Khatal-Patil, a minister in the Maharashtra's government for sixteen-years, in the 1978 Assembly elections as a candidate of INC.

Education

Thorat obtained his LLB degree from ILS Law College, Pune in 1977 and BA from Ferguson college, Pune University in 1975.

Political career

He began his political career as an Independent and fought for the Sangamner Vidhan Sabha seat and won with a margin of 10,159 votes on Shakuntala Khanderao Horat. Thereafter, he won 8 assembly elections without being defeated in any elections as a candidate of INC.

He was the Minister of State for agriculture in the first Vilasrao Deshmukh's government. Later in 2004 he was elevated to the rank of cabinet minister along with Anil Deshmukh of NCP. He was one of those few leaders in Maharashtra who served as ministers in the 15-year Congress-NCP alliance. He served as the minister of Agriculture, Water Conservation, Employment Guarantee Scheme and Additional charge of School Education in Prithviraj Chavan's cabinet. He is a well-known and a leading face in the cooperative movement of Maharashtra. His nephew Satyajeet Tambe Patil is also a politician in Ahmadnagar district and a two-time member of Ahmadnagar Municipality.

Thorat was made the MPCC chief in 2019 when Ashok Chavan resigned following the weak performance of the party in the Lok Sabha elections. Thorat had to battle with the large-scale defections from his party to the ruling alliance. Due to defections the Congress's tally in the assembly fell down decisively.

Under his leadership the party improved its tally from 31 legislators in the assembly to 44 legislators. After the 2019 political turmoil in Maharashtra with the formation of a post-poll alliance called Maha Vikas Aghadi by the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena, Thorat was sworn in as a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray administration.

Thorat resigned as the leader of the Congress in Legislature in 2023.^[6]

Political statistics

SI No.	Year	Assembly Constituency	Opponent	Votes	Difference	Result
1.	1985	Sangamner	Shakuntala Khanderao Horat (INC)	40218-30059	10159	Won
2.	1990		Vasantrao Sakharam Gunjal (BJP)	57465-52603	4862	Won
3.	1995		Bapusaheb Namdeo Gulave (Independent)	73611-58957	14654	Won
4.	1999		Bapusaheb Namdeo Gulave (Shiv Sena)	61975-40524	21451	Won
5.	2004		Sambhajirao Ramchandra Thorat (Shiv Sena)	120058-44301	75757	Won
6.	2009		Babasaheb Dhondiba Kute (Shiv Sena)	96686-41310	55376	Won
7.	2014		Janardan Mhatarba Aher (Shiv Sena)	103564-44759	58805	Won
8.	2019		Sahebrao Ramchandra Navale (Shiv Sena)	125380-63128	62252	Won
9.	2024		Amol Khatal (Shiv Sena)	101826-112386	- 10560	Lost

Positions held

1985–2024 - Member of Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra.
1999–2004 - Minister of State for Agriculture, Govt. of Maharashtra
2004-2014 - Cabinet Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra
14 July 2019 – 5 February 2021 - PCC Chief, Maharashtra
26 November 2019 - 2023 - Congress Legislative Party leader, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
28 November 2019 – 2023 - Cabinet Minister for Revenue, Govt. of Maharashtra
8 January 2020 - Guardian minister Kolhapur
Permanent invitee - Congress Working Committee