Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant Gets Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

New Delhi: Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant will take charge as the Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise in PM Modi's brand new cabinet.

Sawant defeated Congress' Milind Deora for the second time in the general elections, bagging South Mumbai again, despite the tacit support of MNS chief Raj Thackeray.

The 68-year-old deputy leader of the Shiv Sena will replace Anant Geete, the lone Shiv Sena minister in the previous Narendra Modi-led government, who lost from the Raigad Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Sawant, who retained his seat by defeating Deora by over 1 lakh votes, has been associated with the Shiv Sena since the party's early years. He was an engineer with Mahanagar Telephone Network Ltd (MTNL) till 1995 when he took voluntary retirement after being nominated to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from governor's quota when Shiv Sena-BJP government came to power in 1995.

In his 24 years of active political life, Sawant has often been seen defending Shiv Sena on television panels and is reported to have a mass support base. He is also president of the MTNL trade union.