In Amit Deshmukh's constituency Latur, he is no less than a 'Prince'. Stepping out of his father Vilasrao Deshmukh's shadow, Amit Deshmukh has carved a niche for himself. As Amit Deshmukh gears to fight for Maharashtra assembly polls in Latur, are some facts about the eldest Deshmukh son you may not know
Updated On: 2019-07-16 08:40 AM IST
Amit Deshmukh was born on March 21, 1976. He is the son of late Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh. Like his father, Amit is also a member of the Indian National Congress. He represents the Latur City Constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Amit Deshmukh cleared his Class 10 exams from MSBSE Pune G.D Somani Memorial, Cuffe Parade Mumbai in 1991, Class 12 from Ruparel College, Matunga Mumbai in 1993. He is a Chemical Engineer and has done his B.E course from Thadomal Shahani Engineering College in Bandra Mumbai in 1997.
Amit Deshmukh is the elder son of Vaishali Deshmukh and Vilasrao Deshmukh. He has two siblings - Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh who is the second child and the youngest being politician Dheeraj Deshmukh
In 2009, Riteish Deshmukh took a week off to campaign for his brother Amit in Latur. Amit Deshmukh filed his nomination papers for the Congress in the same year.
Amit Deshmukh is married to Aditi Pratap Deshmukh. She is a former television actress and has acted in shows like Saat Phere and Maan and films like Banaras - A Mystic love story. The couple dated for two years before tying the knot.
Amit Deshmukh's wedding was held at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. His bandhgala sherwani was designed by Manish Malhotra. The wedding was attended by political bigwigs.
Amit Deshmukh and Aditi Deshmukh are parents to two boys, Avir and Avan. Amit Deshmukh's wife Aditi is a philanthropist who is keenly involved in the development of women, children and the environment.
Under the guidance of father Vilasrao Deshmukh, Amit Deshmukh started his political career by working from the grassroots. He started his political career with the Maharashtra Youth Congress at age 21.
In picture: Amit Deshmukh with wife and sons
At the age of 21, Amit Deshmukh actively participated in the 1997 Latur Nagar Parishad elections and was involved in the campaigning for Shivraj Patil in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.
In picture: Amit Deshmukh with his brother Dheeraj Deshmukh.
After Vilasrao Deshmukh got busy in state politics, Amit Deshmukh started overseeing the sugar cooperatives and the schools and colleges run by Deshmukh's Manjra charitable trust in Latur.
In picture: Amit Deshmukh with his brother Riteish Deshmukh.
Amit Deshmukh was the Vice President of the Youth Congress in the years 2002 and 2008. In 2009, Amit Deshmukh contested from Latur City on a Congress ticket and defeated Kayyum Khan Mohammad Khan Pathan of Bahujan Samaj Party, and Shripad Kulkarni of Shiv Sena by a margin of 89,480 votes. It was the fourth largest victory in Maharashtra.
In picture: Amit Deshmukh with his wife Aditi and brother Riteish Deshmukh.
In 2014, Amit Deshmukh was appointed as Minister of State for Tourism, Food and Drugs Administration, excise, and new renewable energy.
In June 2014, the ruling Congress-NCP government of Maharashtra expanded with the induction of two legislators as ministers barely four months before the state assembly elections. Latur legislator Amit Deshmukh and Sillod (Jalna) legislator Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi were administered the oath of office and secrecy.
Amit Deshmukh is reportedly is reserved, soft-spoken and well-read when he speaks in the legislature. He is fondly called 'Amit Bhaiyya' in his constituency.
In 2017, upholding a Bombay High Court order, the Supreme Court dismissed an election petition filed against Amit Deshmukh, alleging he had indulged in 'corrupt practices'.
The election petition was filed by Annarao Govindrao Patil, who lost the 2014 assembly election to Amit Deshmukh of Congress from Latur constituency by a huge margin. The total votes polled were 2,03,453, of which Amit Deshmukh had secured 1,19,653 votes.
Amit Deshmukh filed an affidavit denying the allegations in the election petition and contending that they were baseless. After hearing both sides, the Supreme Court opined that no case had been made out against Deshmukh and dismissed the petition.
Apart from politics, Amit Deshmukh has a keen interest in cricket and table tennis and has played those games in his college days. He also enjoys Marathi theatre and music and is tech-savvy.
Despite being the son of one of the strongest Maratha leaders of Maharashtra state, Amit Deshmukh has stepped out of his father's shadow and has come into his own.
