Eknath Sambhaji Shinde[a] (pronunciation: [eknaːt̪ʰ ʃin̪d̪e]; born 9 February 1964[3]) is an Indian politician who is serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra since December 2024 alongside Ajit Pawar under Devendra Fadnavis.

Eknath Shinde hails from 'Dare Tamb' village, Mahabaleshwar taluka in Satara, Maharashtra, and belongs to the Maratha community.

[9] He later resumed his education after joining the First Fadnavis ministry in 2014 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University in 2020.

[39] The Election Commission also found the changes made to the Shiv Sena party constitution in 2018, under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, to be undemocratic.

[40] On 4 February 2024, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that Shinde's faction was the "real Shiv Sena" political party.

On 30 June 2022, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, following a political crisis that led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Anand Dighe provided emotional support to Shinde and entrusted him with greater responsibility in order to keep his mind occupied and away from depression.

[45] Their surviving child, Shrikant Shinde, is an orthopaedic surgeon who has also been the elected Member of Parliament to the Lok Sabha from the Kalyan constituency since 2014 (re-elected in 2019 and 2024).

[46] Dharmaveer, a 2022 Indian Marathi-language biographical drama film by Pravin Tarde, covered Anand Dighe and Eknath Shinde's life.

[50] In September 2024, sequel called Dharmaveer 2 was launched in which Eknath Shinde played a last scene cameo before the end of the film.