What is Yashwant Jadhav's background? Everything you need to know about a Shiv Sena Corporator accused of tax cheating

Yashwant Jadhav, 58, was born into a working-class family in Mazgaon and experienced hardships as a kid. He is a devout Shiv Sainik and a staunch supporter of Balasaheb Thackeray and his son Uddhav. Jadhav joined the Shiv Sena in 1978 and ascended through the ranks to become the chairman of the Standing Committee – the powerful decision-making body of one of the richest Municipal Corporations in the country, with a budget of Rs 45,000 crore – for three terms in a row.

 

In 1997, the party rewarded his dedication by electing him for the first time from Mazgaon. When he was re-elected as a Corporator in 2007, he began his ascension in the party. A year later, he was named chairman of the Market and Garden Committee. In 2012,  he lost the following election, but his wife Yamini won and was elected as a Corporator. In 2017, Jadhav won the municipal elections for the third time and ran for Mayor, however, he was not elected. For the first time in 2018, he was elected chairman of the Standing Committee, a position he has held for the past four years.

 

The BMC's Standing Committee is the most significant committee, as it approves all financial recommendations. As a result, Jadhav has always been a target of the opposition, the BJP, which has never won the BMC despite its phenomenal success in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

 

When an audio clip reportedly catching Jadhav threatening a contractor from the Mazgaon Tadvadi region went viral in 2020, the BJP slammed him hard. The BJP corporators have repeatedly accused the BMC of massive corruption under the guise of Covid-19 expenditure in the run-up to the civic elections, which are expected to take place in April this year. They said that numerous "pro forma" motions were approved by the Standing Committee without explanation and that opposition parties were given details. When Jadhav was in charge of a standing committee meeting, he would assume command and approve suggestions.

 

 

He was constantly chastised by the BJP for not allowing him to speak and highlight the matter. Meeting of the standing committee.

Mayor Kishori Pednekar of the Shiv Sena remarked, "This isn't the first time IT has intervened in a person's life. Yashwant Jadhav is willing to help and would supply all relevant information to IT. But one thing is certain: where the BJP is not in power, central authorities are harassing political leaders. IT is free to conduct as many searches as they want, but we aren't afraid of it. They are attempting to destabilize the Shiv Sena-led administration, but it will not fall."

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter  @iYashwantJadhav