Idris Naikwadi

Background

Idris Naikwadi was born on 4 August 1964 in Maharashtra, a state in western India with Mumbai as its capital. He is the son of Iliyas Naikwadi.

The Sangli region, where he later held municipal office, lies in southern Maharashtra on the banks of the Krishna River and contains several sugar factories. Sangli had been the administrative centre of its district, while Miraj and Kupwad were smaller towns within about 10 kilometres of it. Sangli separated from Miraj in 1801 after a family quarrel among the Patwardhan chiefs, and it later formed part of a princely state ruled by the Patwardhan dynasty before merging into the Indian Union.

Miraj is known for its classical music tradition and for the manufacture and export of musical instruments, while Sangli is known as a centre of Marathi drama.

Education

Naikwadi earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Chintaman College in Sangli. The Sangli college associated with the Chintaman name is the Chintamanrao College of Commerce, which the Deccan Education Society established in 1960 and which is affiliated with Shivaji University in Kolhapur.

The Deccan Education Society, an educational body based in Pune, started commerce education in its network in 1943 and extended it to Sangli in 1960, recognising the need for trained commercial education in the region. The college was named after Chintamanrao Patwardhan, the Raja of Sangli.

Shivaji University was established in 1962 as a state university in Kolhapur and is named in honour of Chatrapati Shivaji. The Sangli college's affiliation to the university placed its commerce courses within the university's academic framework.

Career

Naikwadi's municipal career centred on the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation, which was created on 9 February 1998 by merging the separate councils of Sangli, Miraj and Kupwad. The corporation consists of elected members, is headed by a mayor, and administers the infrastructure and public services of the three towns.

He was elected mayor in 2011 as a member of the Nationalist Congress Party and served from February 2011 until August 2013. His successors included councillors from the Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the NCP, and in February 2026 the office passed to Dhiraj Suryavanshi of the BJP.

In 2024 he entered the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the upper house of the state legislature. He assumed office on 15 October 2024 as a member nominated from the Governor's quota, a category of members appointed by the Governor under the Constitution of India.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut criticised the nomination and alleged that Naikwadi had opposed the Vande Mataram song while serving in the Sangli municipal corporation. The allegation is a claim made by a political opponent.

Achievements

• Received the Vikas Ratna Award from the International Institute of Success Awareness in New Delhi for outstanding services, achievements and contribution.

• Received the Rashtriya Gaurav Award from the India International Friendship Society in New Delhi for meritorious services, outstanding performance and a remarkable role.

• Was named Best Mayor of the Year (Maharashtra) for 2011-2012 by the All India Institute of Local Self-Government.

• Received the Best Planning Award in 1997 from the urban development department of Maharashtra.

Religion

Naikwadi is identified in press coverage as a Muslim, and Marathi and English reports describe him as the only Muslim member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council in the upper house of the state legislature.

Islam originated in seventh-century Arabia through the preaching of Muhammad, whom Muslims regard as the final prophet of God. Its central scripture is the Quran, and its practice rests on five obligations known as the Five Pillars: the declaration of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Mecca for those able to undertake it.

Muslims form the largest religious minority in India. Press coverage of Naikwadi's 2024 nomination linked the appointment to the representation of the Muslim community in Maharashtra's politics, and within the NCP he was described as a minority face in western Maharashtra.

Politics

Naikwadi is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He was elected mayor in 2011 under the party's banner, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP nominated him to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in 2024.

The NCP was founded in 1999 by Sharad Pawar, P. A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar after they left the Indian National Congress over the question of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin. The party became a significant force in Maharashtra, competing with the Congress and with the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party for influence in the state's districts and municipal bodies.

In 2024 the ruling Mahayuti alliance made the nomination. Marathi press coverage linked the choice both to minority representation and to the NCP's rivalry with other leaders in Sangli district.

Membership

Naikwadi holds lifetime membership of the All India Mayors' Conference in New Delhi. The conference is a national gathering of mayors from across India, and its 37th meeting was inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi in January 2002.

His other memberships are on the governing boards of local institutions in the Sangli and Miraj area. He is a director of the Sangli District Central Cooperative Bank Limited, a district-level cooperative lender that channels credit to rural primary cooperative societies. He is also a director of the Azad Education Society's Jawahar High School and Junior College in Miraj, chairman of Miraj High School, and a trustee of Arbi Urdu High School in Miraj. In addition, he is president of the Martial Art Association of India (Maharashtra).

• Lifetime member

  All India Mayors' Conference , India

• Director

  Sangli District Central Cooperative Bank Limited , India

• Director

  Azad Education Society's Jawahar High School and Junior College, Miraj , India

• Chairman

  Miraj High School, Miraj , India

• Trustee

  Arbi Urdu High School, Miraj , India

• President

  Martial Art Association of India (Maharashtra) , India

Connections

His father was Iliyas Naikwadi.

Father:

Iliyas Naikwadi

References

• Idris Naikwadi (Wikipedia) Summarises his tenure as mayor of the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation and his appointment as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
• Idris Naikwadi (Wikidata) Records his sex as male, his date of birth as 4 August 1964, and his place of birth as Maharashtra.
• Times of India Reports his election as mayor of the Sangli, Miraj and Kupwad municipal corporation.
• Deccan Chronicle Reports his swearing in as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from the Governor's quota and describes him as a former mayor and a minority face of the NCP in western Maharashtra.