Voice of Medical Profession in Parliament: Meet Dr Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Orthopaedic Surgeon to full-time politician

New Delhi: With his medical prowess and passion for politics, a Shiv Sena stalwart, Dr Shrikant Shinde, son of none other than Shri Eknath Shinde, incumbent Chief Minister of Maharashtra, is a force in the Parliament. Being among the top five performing members of parliament, Dr Shinde represents the voice of the medical fraternity in Lok Sabha.

Dr Shrikant Shinde completed his MBBS in 2011 followed by postgraduation in MS Orthopaedics in 2015 at the prestigious Dr DY Patil Medical College based in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. He served two years of practice as an Orthopaedic surgeon at Shivaji Hospital at Kalwa.

His political journey began with the 16th Lok Sabha Elections in 2014 from the Kalyan constituency, making him one of the youngest Members of Parliament (MP) and the youngest Maratha Member of Parliament ever at the age of 27. He was pursuing his PG in orthopaedics at that time.

With his medical training, from 1 September 2014 onwards, he was appointed Member of the Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare. From 15th September 2014 to 25th May 2019, he served as a Member of the Committee on Violation of Protocol Norms and Contemptuous Behavior of Government Officers with Members of the Lok Sabha. Later, he was appointed Member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.

In the next Lok Sabha elections held in the year 2019, he got re-elected for the second term as MP from the same constituency. Then from 13 September 2019 onwards, he was appointed to serve as a Member of the Standing Committee on Defence and Member of Consultative Committee, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

This year, solidifying his position as an impactful political leader, Dr Shinde got re-elected in the 18th Lok Sabha elections 2024 with a margin of 2,09,144 votes from the Lok Sabha constituency of Kalyan, Maharashtra.

Dr Shinde has diligently worked for the people of Kalyan with initiatives ranging from the Ring Road project, and the Waterway Transport project for enhancing infrastructure and connectivity in his constituency, to the renovation of hospitals and medical facilities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Shinde took the initiative to make a place available for One Rupee Clinic with Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation.

Since 2015, he organized the Shiv Mandir Art Festival in Ambernath (Kalyan Constituency) to restore the glory of the 950-year-old heritage temple of Lord Shiva. He has established a Dr Shrikant Shinde Foundation which has collaborated with Shiv Sena to arrange free medical camps in Sindhudurg district. The Foundation donated one ambulance in Kolhapur to Sambhaji Raje's foundation during the pandemic.

He also conducts a dedicated Medical Assistance Cell for the people in the name of Vandana Balasaheb Thackrey Vaidakiya Madat Kaksha and Dr Shrikant Shinde Foundation.

For his Parliament service, Dr Shrikant Shinde was conferred with the Bharat Gaurav Award in the year 2021. This year, he was conferred the Sansad Ratna award for his performance during the 17th Lok Sabha. 

Dr Shinde was recently seen during a trailer launch of the movie- Dharamveer 2. Actor Aroh Welankar who has done impactful roles in Abhijit Panse's 'Rege', 'Ghantaa', 'Te Aath Divas', 'Funral' and others, is set to play Dr Shrikant Shinde in the movie.