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Updated: May 31, 2019 16:51 IST

Arvind Sawant, 67, is known in Shiv Sena for his good oratory skills and an ability to develop relations across party lines. These are the qualities which have helped him grow in the party. A Parliament member from Mumbai South, Sawant defeated Congress’s Milind Deora by a margin of over 100,000 votes.

Sawant defeated Deora in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well. He went on to have 98.5% attendance in the Lok Sabha and participated in 287 debates.

Sawant joined the Shiv Sena in 1966 as a teenager and was appointed a group head (the lowest post in the party’s hierarchy) two years later. He graduated from the Bombay University before working in Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). He was instrumental in forming an MTNL union.

When the Sena-BJP government came to power in Maharashtra, Sawant was nominated to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in 1996. He was again nominated to the upper house of the state legislature in 2004.