Vilasrao Deshmukh: Politician who could have been movie star

In the early 1960s a young and handsome student in Pune University harboured a secret ambition to become a star in Bollywood Over the years the Bollywood dreams of Vilasrao Dagadoji Deshmukh crumbled although he resembled an upcoming star of those times Shatrughan Sinha and whose dialogue delivery he imitated to regale friends Instead Deshmukh became a rising star in politics starting with his native Latur district and going on to star on the national stage The double graduatecumlawyer became one of the youngest sarpanches at age 29 in 1974 He had to battle huge odds but there was no looking back after that A Congress loyalist he went on to become Maharashtra chief minister twice and union minister too A young Vilasrao Deshmukhu00a0PicAjay BoradePatil quotI have achieved all this despite powerful political opponentsquot Deshmukh once told this writer naming Sharad Pawar soon after he was swornin the second time as the Maharashtra chief minister in 2004 The kind of hatehate relationship DeshmukhPawar had all these years both ambitious Marathas hailing from the backward Marathwada and the prosperous western Maharashtra respectively is hardly a secret Winning all elections from 1980 barring in the 1995 assembly polls owing to suspected sabotage by party bigwigs Deshmukh started his ministerial stint from 1982 and held all important portfolios Despite having been written off after his defeat in 1995 when the Shiv SenaBJP alliance swept to power Deshmukh made a sensational comeback in 1999 winning with the highest margin in the state When Sharad Pawar quit the Congress to form the Nationalist Congress Party the party was desperate for a strong leader as the next chief minister The mantle fell on Deshmukh who ruled Maharashtra from 1999 to 2003 Even after he was moved to national politics as Congress general secretary Deshmukh39s heart beat only for his home state The Laturborn wanted to move back to Mumbai The opportunity came in 2004 when he bounced back as chief minister He held the reins till he resigned following the 2008 Mumbai terror attack by Pakistani terrorists It was as culture minister that Deshmukh acquired a love for the fine arts music dance movies and drama which remained his passion till the end He was once asked why so many Bollywood personalities crowded his office and residence Deshmukh replied quotMost of them want land somewhere or the other If their case is genuine the government considers itquot A few years later his name was dragged into a land allotment row involving filmmaker Subhash Ghai Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Vilasrao Deshmukh as he assumes charge at his office in New Delhi in 2009 PicSubhash Baroliau00a0 During his tenure as chief minister among the longest by a Congress leader Deshmukh always ensured a couple of important cultural items on his official menu Though he was never identified as a member of any group within the Congress he was great friends with the late Madhavrao Scindia whom he considered as among his mentors When Scindia was killed in a plane crash Deshmukh was at the Hyderabad airport loungeu00a0As he got the news he broke down During the flight back home in a small aircraft he recounted several treasured encounters he had with Scindia Over the years Deshmukh had his share of political controversies land scams and accusations of misusing his position In 2009 as the Congress returned to power again nationally he became a part of the Manmohan Singh government According to his close friends it was last year that his illness and its implications were detected He started taking precautions including lighter assignments A matter of pride for him was his son Riteish who fulfilled his dream of becoming a Bollywood star and later married Genelia D39Souza an upcoming actress His friends hail Deshmukh for his contribution in promoting arts and culture the cooperative movement education and strengthening the administration especially in rural areas He would always say that he wanted to make Maharashtra the numero uno state in India and dreamt of making Mumbai a Shanghai The 67yearold died in a Chennai hospital Tuesday that dream forever incomplete u00a0