Raibhan Jadhav

AURANGABAD, Dec 28: Raibhan Jadhav, MLA 58, who passed away on Thursday afternoon, at the Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, will go down in history ...

AURANGABAD, Dec 28: Raibhan Jadhav, MLA 58, who passed away on Thursday afternoon, at the Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, will go down in history as one of the most respected politician-scholars that this soil had ever produced.He had, at his fingertips, the whole range of problems that plagued this region be it in the field of economy, education, or his all-time favourite 8212; irrigation and water distribution.

Each time he spoke on these problems, the audience would be spellbound by his logic and the hard work he put into studying these issues. This made him deplore his partymen for not being able to discuss things beyond politics.

And unlike his first political guru, S B Chavan, Raibhan Jadhav, was never afraid of being branded 8220;Marathwada level8221; leader. On the contrary, he exploited every single platform to attract public and government attention to the step-motherly attitude given to Marathwada.

He often expressed his angst against the youth and press of the Marathwada region for not making any attempts at understanding the real socio-economic and educational problems of the region.

Born to a humble family in Kannada tehsil of Aurangabad district in 1941, Raibhan Jadhav, attended school in Aurangabad where he exhibited his scholastic brilliance. He later graduated from the Government Arts and Science College, Aurangabad and bagged a gold medal in Marathi from the Bombay University during his post-graduation.After a three-year stint as lecturer, Raibhan Jadhav sat for the State Public Commission exam and was selected for the post of Deputy Collector.

He was soon picked up by the then chief minister, S B Chavan, as his personal secretary. Bureaucracy however did not appeal to this restless man and he soon resigned from government service. He began his political career from the grass-roots, a Zilla Parishad member and went on to represent the Kannad tehsil for three terms in the state assembly.

Raibhan Jadhav was the president of the Marathwada Development Corporation between 1982-85-88. Jadhav was in the forefront of the agitation for the setting up of statutory development board for Marathwada.

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In 1992 his in depth study on water distribution was rewarded when the then chief minister, Sudhakarao Naik made him the working president of the newly formed Water Conservation Board..