Manohar Joshi

Manohar Gajanan Joshi (2 December 1937 – 23 February 2024) was an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra, who served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999, and Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2002 to 2004. He was one of the prominent leaders of the Shiv Sena, and also one of the Indians to be elected to all of the four legislatures. He was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour, by the Government of India in 2025.^[1]

Manohar Joshi
12th Chief Minister of Maharashtra
In office 14 March 1995 – 31 January 1999
Preceded by	Sharad Pawar
Succeeded by	Narayan Rane
13th Speaker of the Lok Sabha
In office 10 May 2002 – 2 June 2004
President	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee (also been a Leader of the House)
Deputy Speaker	P. M. Sayeed
Preceded by	G. M. C. Balayogi
Succeeded by	Somnath Chatterjee
Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
In office 19 October 1999 – 9 May 2002
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Chandra Shekhar
Succeeded by	Anant Geete
Leader of Shiv Sena
In office 19 June 1966 – 23 February 2024
President	Bal Thackeray (1966–2012) Uddhav Thackeray (2012–present)
Leader of the House Legislative Assembly Maharashtra
In office 14 March 1995 – 31 January 1999
Preceded by	Sharad Pawar
Succeeded by	Narayan Rane
13th Leader of the Opposition Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office 22 March 1990 – 12 December 1991
Preceded by	Mrinal Gore
Succeeded by	Gopinath Munde
Mayor of Mumbai
In office 1976–1977
Preceded by	Mehta
Succeeded by	Murli Deora
Member of Parliament, Loksabha
In office 1999–2004
Preceded by	Ramdas Athawale
Succeeded by	Eknath Gaikwad
Constituency	Mumbai North Central
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 2006–2012
Preceded by	Ram Jethmalani
Succeeded by	Anil Desai
Constituency	Maharashtra
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office 1990–1999
Preceded by	Sharayu Thakur
Succeeded by	Vishakha Raut
Constituency	Dadar
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Council
In office 1972–1989
Constituency	Nominated
Councillor, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
In office 1968–1972
Constituency	Dadar
Personal details
Born	(1937-12-02)2 December 1937 Raigad, Bombay Province, British India
Died	23 February 2024(2024-02-23) (aged 86) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Political party	Shiv Sena
Spouse	Anagha Joshi
Children	3
Relatives	Sharvari Wagh (granddaughter)

Early life

Joshi was born on 2 December 1937 in the Marathi-speaking Brahmin family of Gajanan Krishna Joshi and Saraswati Gajanan in Nandavi of Raigad district in Maharashtra.^[2][3][4] He received his Masters of Arts and LLB degrees from Mumbai University.^{[citation needed]} He married Anagha Joshi on 14 May 1964, with whom he had a son, Unmesh, and two daughters, Asmita and Namrata.^[3][5] His granddaughter, Sharvari Wagh, made her debut as an actress with the 2021 film Bunty Aur Babli 2.^[6]

Formation of Kohinoor

After receiving his MA in law^{[citation needed]} he joined Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as an officer^{[citation needed]}, but later started the Kohinoor technical/vocational training institute^{[citation needed]} with the idea of an institute for semi–skilled youths to offer training as electricians, plumbers, TV/radio/scooter repairmen and photographers^{[citation needed]}. Eventually, he started multiple branches of Kohinoor in Mumbai^{[citation needed]}, Pune,^{[citation needed]} Nagpur^{[citation needed]}, Nashik^{[citation needed]}, etc., and later he made an entry into construction and another capital-oriented business.^{[citation needed]}

Manohar Joshi also founded the Kohinoor Business School^{[citation needed]} & Kohinoor-IMI School of Hospitality Management^{[citation needed]} in Khandala, Maharashtra. Later on he took Chancellorship of Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth.^[7]

Political career

Early years

Joshi began his career by being elected as a municipal councillor in Bombay Municipal Corporation in 1968 from the Shiv Sena.^[8]

In 1972 Joshi was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council,^[8] where he served three terms until 1989.^{[citation needed]} He became the Mayor of Mumbai during 1976 to 1977.^{[citation needed]} He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from a Shiv Sena ticket in 1990.^[9]

Joshi with former BCCI vice-president Dnyaneshwar Agashe.

Chief Minister

Joshi became the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Maharashtra when the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition came to power in 1995.^[10] Technically, Sharad Pawar led the first non-Congress government in Maharashtra in 1978^{[citation needed]} as a member of Socialist Indian National Congress.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy and resignation

Joshi and Bal Thackeray were explicitly named for inciting the Shivsainiks to violence against Muslims during the 1992–1993 riots^{[citation needed]} in an inquiry ordered by the government of India, the Srikrishna Commission Report.^{[citation needed]} However, Joshi, then a part of the BJP-Sena government called the report "anti-Hindu, pro-Muslim and biased" and refused to adopt the commission's recommendations.^[11][12]

As Chief Minister, he had permitted the release of a plot of land in Pune, reserved for a school, to a builder with ties to his son-in-law, Girish Vyas.^[13] A housing complex, named Sundew, was built on that land by Vyas in 1998. Sustained legal efforts by Vijay Kumbhar, an RTI activist from Pune,^[14] led to Joshi's resignation in January 1999. In March 2009, Bombay High Court passed a verdict calling the housing complex illegal.^[15] The Supreme Court of India upheld the verdict in 2011 and fined Joshi Rs 15,000.^{[citation needed]} Following its order, the building is now being used for a school.^[16]

Lok Sabha and Speaker

Joshi was promoted to the Lok Sabha when he won in Central Mumbai in the 1999 General Elections.^[17] He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2002 to 2004 during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) administration.^[17]

Joshi was elected for a six-year term to the Rajya Sabha on 20 March 2006^[18] after being defeated in the previous Lok Sabha election in the Central Mumbai constituency.^{[citation needed]}

National Legislator Conference

In September 2022, Manohar Joshi was appointed a key patron of NLC Bharat.^[19]

Death

Manohar Joshi died in Mumbai on 23 February 2024, at the age of 86.^{[citation needed]} He had suffered a cardiac arrest a day earlier and been placed in Hinduja hospital's intensive care unit^{[citation needed]}, dying the next day of age-related health complications.^[20]

See also

• Manohar Joshi ministry
• List of chief ministers of Maharashtra