Key Points
Two weeks ago, when Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was visiting his native village in Satara to attend a religious function, political circles in Maharashtra were abuzz with whispers of Shinde having gone into a sulk after MP Sanjay Raut of the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) said the Shiv Sena leader had retreated to his village for three days as efforts were on in Delhi to replace him..
Shinde was the dark horse when he led a rebellion in Shiv Sena and finally became the CM by forming an alliance with the BJP..
After his rebellion against his party Shiv Sena last year in June, a few leaders had derisively referred to his background as a rickshaw-driver and taunted him, doubting if BJP would ever give him the top job in the state..
But Shinde, who rose from a grassroots-level Shiv Sainik to a key Sena leader, turned out not only to be the Sena's biggest rebel but finally also the chief minister...
Born in a humble Maratha family from the sleepy village of Dare Tarfe Taam in Satara district in western Maharashtra, Shinde took up a variety of small-time jobs after his schooling from a local Thane school to support his parents and three siblings..
