Rajendra Jawaharlal Darda is the Editor-in-Chief of

Lokmat ''Lokmat'' () is a Marathi language newspaper published in Maharashtra state. Founded in 1971 by Jawaharlal Darda, it is the largest read regional language newspaper in India with more than 18 million readers and the No. 1 Marathi newspaper i ...

Media Group, a well-known author and social worker. He was a three-time Member of the

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly The Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha or the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the legislature of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated in the Nariman Point area of South Mumbai in the capital Mumbai. Presently, 288 memb ...

from

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. He was a Cabinet Minister for Education and Minister of Industries in the

government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...

Education

After graduating from

Nagpur University Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), formerly Nagpur University, is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It is one of India's oldest universities, as well as th ...

, Darda received his diploma from the Government Institute of Printing Technology,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. Darda also attended a two-year advanced course in Graphic Arts from the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

Career

Darda is editor-in-chief of the

newspaper group. Darda had also taught journalism courses at

Art and literature

Rajendra Darda published his first Marathi book "Zumbar", a travelogue narrating his experiences as a student in Europe and America in the 1970s. He has also penned a book "Vibrant Vignettes" in English. In the book "Aamche Vidyapeeth" eminent journalists threw light on his contribution to journalism. He has authored a number of articles on a variety of issues and personalities. He is an expert in graphic arts and has completed two-year Advanced Course in Graphic Arts from London College of Printing.

Awards

He received the Acharya Atre award of Sawaj Vyaspeeth from noted cartoonist late R K Laxman on February 15, 2000 for excellence in the field of journalism.

Social service

Mr. Darda has always been committed to the cause of social justice, health and environment. In 1984, he mobilized relief funds for the flood-affected people of

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the tenth largest city in the state and the seventy-ninth most populous city in India. It is the second largest city in Marathwada region. It is the district headquarters of Nanded distric ...

and

Parbhani Parbhani (, IPA ) is a city in Maharashtra state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Parbhani District. Parbhani is one of the largest cities in Marathwada region. Parbhani is around away from regional headquarters of Aurangaba ...

and constructed school buildings. After the severe earthquakes of Bihar (1988) and Killari (Latur, Marathwada 1993), he made a significant contribution through Lokmat Relief Fund towards giving relief to the affected people. Under his leadership, the Lokmat Group of Newspapers raised Kargil relief fund for the families of the martyrs and constructed hostels for the children of the martyrs at

, Nagpur, Latur and Solapur.

Politics

In 1999, he was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Aurangabad Assembly Constituency, Maharashtra. Darda became the Minister of State for Energy, Finance and Planning, and later the Minister of State for Home. He was re-elected MLA from

(West) Constituency in 2004 and Aurangabad (East) Constituency in 2009. He became the Minister for Industries in the newly constituted Cabinet of Maharashtra Government in November 2009 and later served as the School Education Minister.

Personal life

Darda has two sons Karan and Rishi, and a brother Vijay Jawaharlal Darda who is Chairman of Lokmat and has served 3 times as an MP. He is married to Ashoo Darda, who is the chairperson of ''Lokmat Sakhi Manch''.

References

External links

Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra, Detailed Candidates Affidavits of Assembly Election 2009Maha News (marathi) Introduction of Cabinet Ministers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darda, Rajendra People from Aurangabad, Maharashtra Rajasthani people Maharashtra MLAs 1999–2004 Maharashtra MLAs 2004–2009 Living people 1952 births Maharashtra MLAs 2009–2014 Darda family