Vasant Davkhare

Vasant Shankar Davkhare was an Indian politician of the Nationalist Congress Party and deputy chairman of Maharashtra Legislative Council. In 1986 Mr Davkhare was elected as Corporator in Thane Municipal Corporation. In 1987 he was elected as Mayor of Thane Municipal Corporation. He was elected unopposed to Maharashtra Legislative Council in May 2010 after Shiv Sena candidate Shri Ramesh Jadhav withdrew his candidature.^[1] From 1992 till as on date he was elected four times to Maharashtra Legislative Council.

He had been the Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council since 1998.^[2] On 13 July 2010, he was re-elected unopposed as Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, after Shiv Sena MLC Shri. Kiran Pawaskar withdrew his candidature. His name was proposed by Indian National Congress MLC Shri. Ulhas Pawar and it was seconded by Nationalist Congress Party member Shri Hemant Takle.^[3]

On 22 May 2010 Shri Davkhare's wife Smt Shakuntala Davkhare [53] died due to massive cardiac arrest.^[4]

Shri. Vasant Davkhare offered Rs. 100000/- to family of Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year student who was killed in encounter on 15 June 2004 by Gujarat Police. (Ishrat's mother returned the cheque) ^[5]

Maharashtra Legislative Council Deputy Chairman Vasant Davkhare has been re-elected unopposed from the Thane self-government local bodies seat to the Upper House.

Shiv Sena withdrew its candidate from the fray after Davkhare called on party chief Bal Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra yesterday.

The election was scheduled for May 28.

NCP spokesman Madan Bafna said his party, to which Davkhare belongs, Congress and other allies had a comfortable majority in the Thane district local bodies.

"Davkhare enjoyed good personal equations with all political parties in the district. It was going to be a one- sided election. Our party is satisfied that the Opposition candidate withdrew from the race. We thank all the political parties which helped facilitate the election of Davkhare unopposed," he said.

This will be Davkhare's fourth term in the Council from the Thane self-government local bodies seat.

Bafna said Davkhare's election, coupled with the massive victory of the party in the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation polls last month, has boosted the NCP's morale in the neighbouring district. He died on 4 January 2018. Mr. Davkhare was suffering from a renal failure and had been on ventilator support since November 23 at Bombay Hospital. While his treating nephrologist Dr. Vishwanath Billa refused to comment on his ailment, hospital sources said that his condition remained critical due to a predominant infection. Along with the chronic kidney disease, he had developed pneumonia, adding that he succumbed to a multiple organ failure.

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