Who Is Dattatray Bharane? All You Need To Know About Maharashtra's New Agriculture Minister

In a major reshuffle in the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led Cabinet, Dattatray Bharane, who was the Sports Minister, was appointed the Agriculture Minister, whereas Manikrao Kokate, who was the Agriculture Minister, was made the Sports Minister.

Both Bharane and Kokate are MLAs of the Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party. Bharane is a legislator from Pune's Indapur, whereas Kokate is from Nashik's Sinnar.

This came after Kokate found himself in hot water after a video of him allegedly playing an online rummy game on his mobile phone while sitting in the legislative council during the monsoon session was shared on social media by NCP (SP) leaders Rohit Pawar and Jitendra Awhad. He had also courted controversy for allegedly equating farmers with beggars a few months ago.

Meanwhile, taking to X (formerly Twitter), Bharane said he was grateful to CM Fadnavis and Dy CMs Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde for giving the Agriculture Ministry to a farmer's son.

"I was born and raised in a farmer's family and have experienced every aspect of agriculture. That is why I understand the sorrows, difficulties, and expectations of farmers with all my heart. Now, through the responsibility of the post of Minister, I have got the opportunity to work for their justice, rights, and progress," he wrote.

"Respect for farmers, sustainable agriculture, and rural prosperity will be my main goals. I will make a sincere effort to convey the voice of farmers in every policy of the government," he added.

In the 2024 Assembly polls, Bharane defeated NCP (SP) leader Harshavardhan Patil by a margin of 19,410 votes. Bharane secured 1,17,236 votes, while Patil got 97,826 votes. He had defeated Patil in the 2014 and 2019 elections too from the Indapur Assembly seat.

He has earlier served as the Minister of State for Public Works (excluding Public Undertakings), Soil and Water Conservation, Forests Department, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, Fisheries Department, General Administration, and Other Backward Classes, among others.