Raosaheb D. Patil Danve: A man who built BJP in Maharashtra

A school passout, Raosaheb D. Patil Danve, 64, is a five-time MP from Jalna and also the Maharashtra BJP President who returns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministry a second time.

Starting his activist life as a village Sarpanch, he is considered a grassroots leader who rose up the ranks to become an MLA twice, then MP five times, a Minister in Maharashtra, and also served for one year as Minister of State in the first term of Modi.

After the BJP-Shiv Sena took power in Maharashtra in October 2014, then state party President Devendra Fadnavis was elected Chief Minister after stepping down as the party chief in the state.

The hunt for a suitable BJP head in Maharashtra zeroed in on Patil Danve, who offered to quit his post in the centre to spearhead the BJP in the state.

Born on March 18, 1955, the Maratha leader became only the second BJP leader after Suryabhan Vahadane-Patil to hold the post of party chief while being a Lok Sabha member.

His appointment also balanced the crucial caste factor in the state with a Brahmin (Fadnavis) as the Chief Minister.

Under Patil Danve's leadership, the BJP grew in Maharashtra's rural areas, consolidated itself in urban centres and scored big in several local elections. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 of the 48 seats while ally Shiv Sena got 18 seats.IANS