Former Mumbai Congress President and politician Milind Deora, who recently lost the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, turned a year older today. As the Congress leader celebrates his 43rd birthday, we look back at his political journey so far.
Milind Deora, a two-time Congress MP, was born on December 4, 1975, in Mumbai. He has been part of active politics since his childhood days, thanks to his father, the late Murli Deora who was a Member of Parliament from the same constituency. Milind Deora did his schooling from Cathedral and John Connon School and completed his education from Sydenham College and Boston University.
In photo: Milind Deora shared this rare photo of himself as a college student where the Congress leader is seen as a young teenager and college-going student. While sharing the photo, Milind captioned it: Now that's what you call a blast from the past!
Milind Deora is married to Pooja Shetty Deora, Bollywood film producer and MD of Adlabs Imagica. Pooja is the daughter of business scion Manmohan Shetty and the two tied the knot in November 2008
In photo: Milind Deora poses for a picture with wife Pooja as he captions it: Me & the Missus!
Milind Deora is a B.A. graduate in Business and Political Science. In the photo, a young Milind Deora is seen having a candid conversation with his father, the late Murli Deora.
Milind Deora's father Murli Deora was a veteran politician of the Congress party who passed away in December 2014 after a prolonged illness. 'Murli Bhai' as he was fondly called was credited for bringing an end to smoking in public places. Milind Deora's brother Mukund is a Disc Jockey, while mother Hema Deora is a renowned Bridge player, who won a medal at the 2018 Asian Games
In photo: Milind Deora is seen trying his hands at the gym as he gets witty: Building that 56-inch chest!
Milind Deora represented the South Mumbai constituency in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, which his father reigned for many years. He defeated BJP's Jaywantiben Mehta and became an MP at the age of 27. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he was once again elected to power from Mumbai South constituency
Did you know that Milind Deora is also a blues guitarist and has several performances to his credit? He held the guitar for the first time at the age of seven and since then playing the six-string has been his passion. Till date, he has collaborated with various artists such as blues legend Buddy Guy, Sharon Prabhakar to name a few.
In photo: Milind Deora with blues legend Buddy Guy
While Milind Deora was in Delhi and navigating the corridors of power in the country's capital, he started a band called Tightrope which he put to rest in 2013. In 2018, Milind Deora formed Third Degree and revived his career as a guitarist.
In photo: Milind Deora playing at a gig!
Milind Deora is also known to actively get involved in social causes. From taking up issues of the people of Mumbai to being involved in environmental causes, Milind Deora is a leader who means business. In 2018, Milind Deora started the Quit Plastic Movement, a citizens' initiative to reduce the dependency of single-use plastic from our everyday lives.
In photo: Actor and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza receives a sapling from former Member of Parliament Milind Deora at the World Trade Centre in Cuffe Parade, at a plastic waste recycling drive
In photo: Former MP and politician Milind Deora takes part in a candlelight march in wake of the Pulwama terror attacks that killed at least 44 CRPF jawans in February 2019
In 2012, Milind Deora's Twitter account was suspended by the micro-blogging site. When the news reached Deora, he in an interview told mid-day, "The Only interesting thing in my life is that my twitter ID got suspended :)." He further clarified, 'I had asked for my account to be verified and they suspended it but reactivated it and apologised later.' It was ironic that Milind's account was suspended because he was India’s IT minister at the time
During his tenure as an MP, Milind Deora has pursued several causes, including making use of funds for construction of public toilets, repairing drainage lines and roads, initiating a debate on Right To Information in the parliament, beautification of iconic destinations such as the Marine Drive, the Gateway of India, Jhaveri Bazar in Mumbai. He also played a key role in persuading the Congress government in the state to take action on key projects such as the Bandra-Worli sea link and the Mumbai Metro among others.
In photo: Milind Deora in a candid conversation with Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh
In 2011, during the reshuffle of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's council of ministers, Murli Deora resigned as the Minister of Petroleum just before the reshuffle, In his stead, his son Milind Deora was inducted into the Union Cabinet as the minister of state for communications and IT. A year later, Milind was also given the charge of the Ministry of Shipping.
In photo: Milind Deora has a candid conversation with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
In photo: Milind Deora having a candid conversation with three millennials as he discusses the relationship between social media and politics with them.
Free eye check camps for the needy, providing free job-oriented computer education to economically underprivileged students through NGO Sparsh and starting Youth Parliament, an initiative that gives today’s youth a hands-on experience of the day-to-day working of the Lok-Sabha are few of the initiatives that have been undertaken by Milind Deora during in his political career so far
In photo: Milind Deora poses for a picture at the Milind Deora-QPR South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenger in Mumbai.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when the Narendra Modi wave took over the country and BJP emerged as the single largest party in the country, many stalwarts of the Congress party lost their seats and were swept away in the saffron wave. One among them was Congress leader and sitting MP Milind Deora. Milind Deora lost the Mumbai South constituency by more than 1.5 lakh votes to Shiv Sena leader Aravind Sawant, who became the first Maharashtrian MP from Mumbai South after S K Patil in 1962.
In photo: Milind Deora shares a laugh with Congress President Rahu Gandhi and Sanjay Nirupam.
Milind Deora once again contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate but Sena's Aravind Sawant yet again managed to defeat the Congress leader. Even after losing the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Milind Deora continued to serve the people of Mumbai with the same passion as he would do being in power.
Milind Deora's mother Hema Deora is a former interior designer and a bridge player, Hema was part of the Indian squad that took part in the 2018 Asian Games. She won a bronze medal in the mixed team event in the bridge at the Asian Games 2018
In photo: Milind Deora and family make for a picture-perfect family frame
Milind Deora and his wife Pooja Shetty were recently clicked at Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta's grand wedding held at Jio World Centre, BKC
In photo: Milind Deora and Pooja Shetty strike a pose with Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani at an event in Mumbai
In photo: Milind Deora has a candid conversation with Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan post her show 'What Women Want' featuring Deora. Milind captioned it: Just spoke to Kareena Kapoor about the 'F' word on What Women Want!
In photo: Milind Deora is seen displaying his cricketing skills with the bat at the MASSMA Cup 2018 in Mumbai
In photo: The young politician Milind Deora started his career as an IT minister under the Manmohan Singh government. He captioned this one: Will always be grateful to Dr. Manmohan Singh who mentored me right through my student days to when I was first elected MP and served as Minister in his government
In photo: Milind Deora is seen on a lunch outing with his friends Cyrus Broacha and Kunal Vijayakar
In photo: Milind Deora at an event in Mumbai as he captions it: Winners don't wait for opportunities, they take them!
In photo: Congress leader Milind Deora at the wedding bash of Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta with his wife Pooja Shetty Deora
While the whole of Delhi was dripping with air pollution, Congress leader Milind Deora who was in the capital on an official work took to Instagram to give a witty take on the situation in the national capital. While sharing this picture with a mask on his face, Milind wrote: As my flight descended into Delhi, I was reminded of the climax in Batman Begins. The scene where the villain drowns Gotham City under a blanket of poisonous gas. And I thought - Delhi needs a masked superhero. He ended his humorous caption with a hashtag Batman begins!
Sharing a leaf from his good olden days, Milind Deora shared this picture with his followers and took them on a trip down memory lane. While sharing this picture of an old Nokia phone, Milind wrote: I miss the good old days!
In photo: Congress leader Milind Deora takes some time off his political rally and enjoys a game of carrom with the locals in his constituency
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