Chandrashekhar Bawankule

Chandrashekhar Bawankule
Cabinet Minister Government of Maharashtra
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 December 2024
Minister	Ministry of Revenue (Maharashtra)
Chief Minister	Devendra Fadnavis
Preceded by	Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil
President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Maharashtra
In office 12 August 2022 – 11January 2025
Preceded by	Chandrakant Patil
Succeeded by	Ravindra Chavan (Executive)
Minister of Excise Government of Maharashtra
In office 8 July 2016 – 8 November 2019
Chief Minister	Devendra Fadnavis
Preceded by	Eknath Khadse
Succeeded by	Dilip Walse-Patil
Minister of Energy Government of Maharashtra
In office 4 December 2014 – 8 November 2019
Chief Minister	Devendra Fadnavis
Preceded by	Ajit Pawar
Succeeded by	Balasaheb Thorat
Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council
In office 2 January 2022 – 23 November 2024
Preceded by	Girish Vyas
Constituency	Nagpur Local Authorities
Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 2024
Preceded by	Tekchand Sawarkar
Constituency	Kamthi
In office 2004–2019
Preceded by	Sulekha Kumbhare
Succeeded by	Tekchand Sawarkar
Constituency	Kamthi
Personal details
Born	(1969-01-13) 13 January 1969 (age 56) Koradi, Maharashtra, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse	Jyoti Bawankule
Children	Payal Bawanklule Sanket Bawanklule
Occupation	Politician
Website	www.cbawankule.in

Chandrashekhar Krishnarao Bawankule is President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Maharashtra[1] and Member of 15th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly representing Kamptee Vidhan Sabha. He was member of the 13th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly[2] & Minister for Energy, New and Renewable Energy Maharashtra,[3][4] Ministry of State Excise (Maharashtra),[5] and also appointed Nagpur Guardian Minister on 26 December 2014.[6]

A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he represented the Kamthi Assembly Constituency, being elected from there in 2004, 2009 & 2014.[7] He was made Secretary of the Bhartiya Janata Party, Maharashtra State Unit in Devendra Fadnavis' team in 2012. In a cabinet expansion, he was given charge of the state excise department on 10 July 2016.

Background and family

Chandrashekhar Bawankule was born in Kamthi into a Marathi Teli family. He is married to Jyoti Bawankule and has two children.

Early life

Bawankule was born and raised in a farming family with no political background. Koradi, located near Nagpur, is the place where he pursued his higher education in the stream of Science & completed first year.

Political career

Bawankule's career commenced in earnest in the early nineties, he started "Chhatrapati Sena" and continued its social work till 1994. Then he joined Bhartiya Janata Party under the leadership of Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari in 1995, becoming Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha a youth wing of the BJP in Maharashtra in 1995.

In 1997 & 2002, Bawankule was elected as a District Council Member. In 2004, he was elected to the Maharashtra state assembly for the first time, from Kamthi constituency. He was reelected twice, in 2009 and 2014. Due to allegations of corruption, the BJP did not give Bawankule the ticket to contest Assembly elections in 2019. It was given to his wife Jyoti instead, but later rescinded from her as well.

Positions held

Within BJP

• President, Bharatiya Janata Party, Maharashtra, Since 12 August 2022[8][9]
• Vice President, BJYM Nagpur District (1995)
• General Secretary, BJP Nagpur District
• President, Bhartiya Janata Party, Nagpur District
• Secretary, Maharashtra BJP State Unit (2012-2014)

Legislative

• Member, Zilha Parishad, Nagpur (1997 & 2002)
• Member, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly - Since 2004-2019
• Cabinet Minister Maharashtra, Energy, New & Renewable Energy
• Guardian Minister of Nagpur
• Member, Maharashtra Legislative Council - Since 2 Jan. 2022
• Member, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly - Since 2024-2029

References

1. "Appointed as State President". Retrieved 12 August 2022.
2. "Live Kamthi (Maharastra) Assembly Election Results 2019 Updates, Winner, Runner-up Candidates 2019 Updates, Vidhan Sabha Current MLA and Previous MLAs".
3. Energy, New and Renewable Energy, State Excise Archived 18 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 20 July 2018.
4. "Declared: Portfolios of Maharashtra Government ministers". Mid-Day. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
5. Welcome to Maharashtra State Excise Online Services Retrieved 20 July 2018.
6. Ramu Bhagwat (27 December 2014). "Bawankule is Nagpur district guardian minister". The Times of India. TNN. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
7. Kamthi (Maharashtra) Assembly Constituency Elections Retrieved 20 July 2018.
8. The Hindu (12 August 2022). "With polls in mind, BJP appoints Chandrashekhar Bawankule as new Maharashtra State President". Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
9. The Indian Express (13 August 2022). "Bawankule appointed new Maharashtra BJP president, Shelar is Mumbai party chief". Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.

Political offices
Preceded by Devendra Fadnavis	Cabinet Minister for Energy, New and Renewable Energy; Maharashtra State 2014–2019	Succeeded by Balasaheb Thorat
Preceded by	Maharashtra State Guardian Minister for Nagpur district 2014–2019	Incumbent