Manohar Joshi: One man, many hats

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi - who passed away on Friday after prolonged illness and age-related health issues - is one of those rare politicians who left a mark at all levels - municipal, state and national politics.

Besides, Joshi had the distinction of being member of four law-making bodies - both Houses of Maharashtra legislature and member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Joshi was the Speaker of Lok Sabha when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government was in power at the Centre.

He wore many hats - politician, businessman, educationalist, social worker and sports administrator.

Fondly known as “Sir”, Joshi was one of the close associates of cartoonist-turned-politician Balasaheb Thackeray, who founded the Shiv Sena for the cause of 'Marathi-manoos' and later championed the Hindutva-movement.

Joshi was 86.

Following a heart attack on Thursday, he was rushed to the PD Hinduja National Hospital & Medical Research Centre at Mahim, where he passed away in the wee hours of Friday.

The last rites were performed at 3 pm at Shivaji Park crematorium in Dadar, where he was accorded a state-funeral.

Dr Joshi had served in several capacities including being a Mayor of Mumbai, as an MLA, Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Chief Minister from 1995-1999, Heavy Industries Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-government and Lok Sabha Speaker from 2002-2004.

Known for his elephantine memory, punctuality and sense of humour, his friendship cut across party lines.

Dr Joshi was born on 2 December 1937 at Nandavi in the Raigad district of the coastal Konkan belt of Maharashtra.

He received his MA and LLB degrees from the University of Mumbai.

He married Anagha Joshi on 14 May 1964, with whom he has a son, Unmesh, and two daughters, Asmita and Namrata.

Joshi worked in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) but inspired by Balasaheb’s mission of welfare of Marathi-manoos, he joined the Shiv Sena, which was founded in 1966.

He founded the Kohinoor Technical Institute, one of the finest and first institutions for vocational training.

He was elected to the BMC in 1968 and served as a Chairman of the Standing Committee and Mayor.

He was initially a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council and then got elected as a member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

Along with Balasaheb, he was one of the key architects of the Shiv Sena-BJP saffron alliance - and they enjoyed personal relations with BJP stalwarts Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani besides Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde.

When the undivided Shiv Sena came to power with BJP, Joshi was the Chief Minister from March 14, 1995-January 31, 1999 - the first non-Congress and first Brahmin to assume the top job.

When Dr Joshi was the chief minister, the government rejected the report of Justice B K Srikrishna Commission, which indicted among others Balasaheb, his mentor.

Another thing that marked his career was Mumbai Pune Expressway, a project which was executed by BJP’s then Public Works Minister Nitin Gadkari.

He was replaced by Narayan Rane as chief minister.

Thereafter, he moved to Central politics.

Till the end, Joshi had been loyal to the Thackeray family even though a few years ago he had to face embarrassment at Shivaji Park.

“He was a Corporator, Mayor, Chief Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Union Minister but above all he was a committed Shiv Sainik. He has always stood by Balasaheb,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray, the son of Balasaheb.

“We have lost a true Shiv Sainik who carried forward the legacy of Balasaheb,” said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Shiv Sena chief leader.

To top his career, Joshi Sir wrote PhD on Shiv Sena and received a doctorate.