Harshvardhan Jadhav

Harshvardhan Jadhav is an Indian politician who formerly represented Kannad in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He has been a member of Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Shiv Swarajya Paksha at various times in his political career and later joined Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).^[1]

Harshvardhan Jadhav
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office (2009-2014), (2014 – 2019)
Preceded by	Namdev Pawar
Succeeded by	Udaysingh Rajput
Constituency	Kannad
Personal details
Born	1978
Political party	Bharat Rashtra Samithi[1]
Other political affiliations	Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Shiv Sena Shiv Swarajya Paksha
Spouse	Sanjana Jadhav[2]
Children	1
Parents	Raibhan Jadhav[3] (father) Tejaswini Jadhav[2] (mother)
Relatives	Raosaheb Danve Patil (Father-In-Law) Santosh Raosaheb Danve Patil (Brother-In-Law)
Residence(s)	Pishor, Kannad, Aurangabad
Education	Diploma in Business Administration at Cardiff University[4][5]
Occupation	Farming and Business

Political career

Coming from a political family, Jadhav entered politics somewhat reluctantly in 2004, losing the Assembly election that year as an Independent.^[6] He was elected to Vidhan Sabha in 2009 from the Kannad Assembly Constituency as a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena nominee. He won the seat for the consecutive term in 2014, but this time he was with Shiv Sena.^[7]

Jadhav contested 2019 Lok Sabha election as an independent from Aurangabad. Jadhav gained sizable Maratha support, which resulted in Shiv Sena losing the seat after having won it for 4 consecutive elections.^[8][9] In the aftermath, his house was pelted with stones by Shiv Sena supporters for his comments about Uddhav Thackeray.^[10][11] While he had floated his own party "Shiv Swarajya Paksha/Shiv Swarajya Bahujan Paksh", he contested as an Independent.^[11][12][13] He later announced that the party will continue fielding candidates in upcoming state elections.^[14]

Jadhav rejoined MNS in 2020 and was tasked with playing an influential role in Marathwada politics.^[15][16]

He is known for his activism for Maratha reservation and support for Maratha Kranti Morcha.^{[4][17][18][19]}

In May 2020, Jadhav announced that he has retired from politics and would support his wife to further her political ambitions.^[15][20][21]

Controversies

In 2011, Jadhav was involved in assault case where he claimed he was assaulted by the police. A counter-case was filed by the police alleging he was the one who instigated the attacks.^[22] Two cops were suspended after the incidence^[23] and in 2017 Jadhav sentenced to one year in jail.^[24] In 2014, He was again in the news for slapping a security officer.^[25]

In March 2020, a case was registered against Jadhav for verbally assaulting a person from Scheduled caste under the atrocities act.^[26] His camp denied allegations and called the charges politically motivated.^[27]

In Dec 2020, the Bopodi Police station lodged an FIR against him for attempted murder in a road rage incident in Aundh, Pune in which he was later granted bail and the opposing were charged under the same.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Jadhav is the son of Late Raibhan Jadhav, a politician from Indian national congress and also social worker who was locally known as Krishi Maharshi for his agricultural work in the kannad constituency.^[3][6]

After series of video posts over previous months,^[28] Jadhav filed for divorce in August 2020 citing mental anguish.^[29]

Positions held

• 2009: Elected to Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as member of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
• 2014: Re-elected to Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, as member of Shiv Sena