Sudhakarrao Naik

Sudhakarrao Naik Biography

Sudhakarrao Naik was a prominent politician from Maharashtra associated with Indian National Congress. He served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 25 June 1991 until 22 February 1993. As a CM his term though short is significant, as he was appointed following the infamous 1993 Bombay Bombings which killed 257 people and left 1,400 others injured. His uncle Vasantrao Naik was also a prominent politician who served as the chief minister of Maharashtra for long 11 years, a record still to be broken.

He was born on 21 August 1934 in Gavli village of Yavatmal district, Maharashtra. He started his political journey as a village surpanch. Rose to a prominent leader in the late 1970s, he got elected to Maharashtra state assembly for 5 times in a row since 1978. He got elected to state assembly during 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1999 elections too. When he served as the chief minister for a brief period when communal riots broke out in Mumbai in 1992. He was blamed for keeping silent during the infamous riots. He severely failed to take suitable measures when communal riots took place, and was blamed as inefficient leadership.

But as a chief minister, his administration is known for his attempts to destroy the clout of the Mumbai Underworld. He also arrested many gangsters like Pappu Kalani and Bhai Thakur. He also took better methods for water conservation. But his political indifferences with senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar led to his resignation. After serving a brief term as Governor of Himachal Pradesh, he was elected to 12th Lok Sabha from Washim constituency in 1998. But he died on 10 May 2001 while serving as MP. He was 66 years old.

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Updated: June 19, 2016