New LoP Jitendra Awhad a Sharad Pawar loyalist

He subsequently joined the NCP when Sharad Pawar split from the Congress. His loyalty to Shahrad Pawar had earned him the nomination as a Member of the Legislative Council of Maharashtra for two terms successively in 2002 and 2008.

Awhad made his first successful electoral foray in the 2009 Assembly elections winning from the Muslim-dominated Mumbra-Kalwa constituency by a margin of 15,689 votes against a Shiv Sena candidate. He has since gone on to represent the seat for two more terms in 2014 and 2019.

Awhad had served briefly as the Cabinet minister for Medical Education & Horticulture in 2014. In 2019 when the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government was formed Awhad was made the Housing Minister in the state.

Awhad who belongs to the OBC community has been vocal against what he claims are “Manuvadi forces” in the country. In 2018 the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) had told a sessions court here that suspected right-wing activists had carried out a reconnaissance of several persons including Awhad, who were on the target list of the group to which he belonged, for ‘speaking against the Hindu religion’.

An avid supporter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Awhad had found himself embroiled in a controversy in 2020 when he along with 15-20 individuals are alleged to have assaulted a Thane-based civil engineer for posting a morphed photograph of Awhad who was a minister in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi at that time.

An FIR had been filed against Awhad and he was arrested when he was a minister, but was granted bail on the same day. The BJP has since then been gunning for Awhad seeking action against him.