Balasaheb Thorat

{{short description|Indian politician, agricultural cooperative and reforestation movement founder}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Balasaheb Thorat

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age |df=y|1953|2|7}}

| birth_name = Vijay Bhausaheb Thorat

| residence = Jorve, Taluka Sangamner, District Ahmednagar, Tapalcha Patta, Sudarshan, 7 Shivjinagar, Sangamner--422605

| death_date =

| death_place =

| office = Leader of Congress Legislature Party
Maharashtra Legislature

| term_start = 24 November 2019

| term_end =

| 1namedata = *Sonia Gandhi

• Mallikarjun Kharge

| 1blankname = National President Indian National Congress

| predecessor = Prithviraj Chavan

| successor =

| office1 = Leader of the Opposition
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

| status1 = Additional Charge

| term_start1 = 18 July 2023

| term_end1 = 3 August 2023

| governor1 = *Ramesh Bais

| 1blankname1 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata1 = *Eknath Shinde

| 2blankname1 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata1 = *Devendra Fadnavis (First)

• Ajit Pawar (Second)

| 3blankname1 = Speaker of the House

| 3namedata1 = *Rahul Narwekar

| deputy1 = *Himself

| predecessor1 = *Ajit Pawar

• Jitendra Awhad (Acting)

| successor1 = *Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar

| office2 = Deputy Leader of the Opposition
(Maharashtra Legislative Assembly)

| term_start2 = 4 July 2022

| term_end2 = 3 August 2023

| governor2 = *Bhagat Singh Koshyari

• Ramesh Bais

| 1blankname2 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata2 = *Eknath Shinde

| 2blankname2 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata2 = *Devendra Fadnavis (First)

• Ajit Pawar (From 02 July 2023) (Second)

| 4blankname2 = Speaker of the House

| 4namedata2 = *Rahul Narwekar

| 3blankname2 = Leader of the Opposition

| 3namedata2 = *Ajit Pawar

• Jitendra Awhad (Acting)
• Himself (Additional Charge)

| predecessor2 = *Sudhir Mungantiwar

| successor2 = *Jitendra Awhad (NCP)

• Ajay Choudhari (SHS(UTB))

| office3 = Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

| term_start3 = 1985

| term_end3 = 26 November 2024

| governor3 =

| 1blankname3 = Speaker of the House

| 1namedata3 =

| constituency3 = Sangamner

| predecessor3 = B. J. Khatal-Patil

| parliamentarygroup3 = Indian National Congress

| successor3 = Amol Khatal

| office4 = Cabinet Minister
Government of Maharashtra

| term_start4 = 30 December 2019

| term_end4 = 29 June 2022

| subterm4 = Cabinet

| suboffice4 = Thackeray ministry

| minister4 = * Revenue

| 1blankname4 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata4 = Uddhav Thackeray

| 2blankname4 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata4 = Ajit Pawar

| governor4 = *Bhagat Singh Koshyari

| 3blankname4 = Guardian Minister

| 3namedata4 = *Dhule District Additional Charge

| predecessor4 = *Himself (Acting)

| successor4 = Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil

| term_start5 = 28 November 2019

| term_end5 = 30 December 2019

| subterm5 = Cabinet

| suboffice5 = Thackeray ministry

| minister5 = *Revenue

• Energy
• Medical Education
• School Education
• Animal Husbandry
• Dairy Development
• Fisheries Department

| 1blankname5 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata5 = Uddhav Thackeray

| status5 = Incharge

| governor5 = *Bhagat Singh Koshyari

| predecessor5 = *Chandrakant Patil
{{small|(Revenue Ministry)}}

• Chandrashekhar Bawankule
  {{small|(Energy Ministry)}}
• Girish Mahajan
  {{small|(Medical Education Ministry)}}
• Ashish Shelar
  {{small|(School Education Ministry)}}
• Ram Shinde
  {{small|(Animal Husbandry Ministry)}}
• Ram Shinde
  {{small|(Dairy Development Ministry)}}
• Anil Sukhdevrao Bonde
  {{small|(Fisheries Department Ministry)}}

| successor5 = *Himself
{{small|(Revenue Ministry)}}

• Nitin Raut
  {{small|(Energy Ministry)}}
• Amit Deshmukh
  {{small|(Medical Education Ministry)}}
• Varsha Gaikwad
  {{small|(School Education Ministry)}}
• Sunil Chhatrapal Kedar
  {{small|(Animal Husbandry Ministry)}}
• Sunil Chhatrapal Kedar
  {{small|(Dairy Development Ministry)}}
• Aslam Shaikh
  {{small|(Fisheries Department Ministry)}}

| office6 = President of Maharashtra
Pradesh Congress Committee

| term_start6 = 7 July 2019

| term_end6 = 5 February 2021

| 1namedata6 = Sonia Gandhi

| 1blankname6 = National President Indian National Congress

| predecessor6 = Ashok Chavan

| successor6 = Nana Patole

| office7 = Secretary of Maha Vikas Aghadi

| president7 = Uddhav Thackeray

| 1blankname7 = Chairperson

| 1namedata7 = Sharad Pawar

| predecessor7 = Position established

| term_start7 = 26 November 2019

| successor7 =

| office8 = Cabinet Minister
Government of Maharashtra

| term_start8 = 11 November 2010

| term_end8 = 26 September 2014

| subterm8 = Cabinet

| suboffice8 = Prithviraj Chavan ministry

| minister8 = * Revenue

• Vimukta Jati
• Food, Civil Supplies
• Consumer Affairs
• State Border Defence (First)

| 1blankname8 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata8 = Prithviraj Chavan

| 2blankname8 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata8 = Ajit Pawar

| 3blankname8 = Guardian Minister

| 3namedata8 = *Ahmednagar District

• Buldhana District
• Nagpur District

| governor8 = *Kateekal Sankaranarayanan

• Om Prakash Kohli (additional charge)
• C. Vidyasagar Rao

| predecessor8 = *Narayan Rane
{{small|(Revenue Ministry)}}

• Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil
  {{small|(Vimukta Jati Ministry)}}
• Anil Deshmukh
  {{small|(Food, Civil Supplies Ministry)}}
• Anil Deshmukh
  {{small|(Consumer Protection Ministry)}}
• Patangrao Kadam
  {{small|(State Border Defence Ministry)}}

| successor8 = *Eknath Khadse
{{small|(Revenue Ministry)}}

• Mahadev Jankar
  {{small|(Vimukta Jati Ministry)}}
• Girish Bapat
  {{small|(Food, Civil Supplies Ministry)}}
• Girish Bapat
  {{small|(Consumer Protection Ministry)}}
• Eknath Khadse
  {{small|(State Border Defence Ministry)}}

| term_start9 = 7 November 2009

| term_end9 = 9 November 2010

| subterm9 = Cabinet

| suboffice9 = Second Ashok Chavan ministry

| minister9 = *Agriculture

• Soil and Water Conservation
• School Education
• Marathi Language

| 1blankname9 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata9 = Ashok Chavan

| 2blankname9 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata9 = Chhagan Bhujbal

| governor9 = *S. C. Jamir

• K. Sankaranarayanan

| 3blankname9 = Guardian Minister

| 3namedata9 = *Ahmednagar District

• Kolhapur District
• Latur District

| predecessor9 = *Himself
{{small|(Agriculture Ministry)}}

• Himself
  {{small|(Soil and Water Conservation Ministry)}}
• Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil
  {{small|(School Education Ministry)}}
• Vijaykumar Krishnarao Gavit
  {{small|(Marathi Language Ministry)}}

| successor9 = *Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil
{{small|(Agriculture Ministry)}}

• Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar
  {{small|(Soil and Water Conservation Ministry)}}
• Rajendra Darda
  {{small|(School Education Ministry)}}
• Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil
  {{small|(Marathi Language Ministry)}}

| term_start10 = 8 December 2008

| term_end10 = 6 November 2009

| subterm10 = Cabinet

| suboffice10 = First Ashok Chavan ministry

| minister10 = *Agriculture

• Protocol
• Soil and Water Conservation

| 1blankname10 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata10 = Ashok Chavan

| 2blankname10 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata10 = Chhagan Bhujbal

| governor10 = *S. C. Jamir

| predecessor10 = *Himself
{{small|(Agriculture Ministry)}}

• Himself
  {{small|(Protocol Ministry)}}
• Surupsingh Hirya Naik
  {{small|(Soil and Water Conservation Ministry)}}

| successor10 = *Himself
{{small|(Agriculture Ministry)}}

• Ashok Chavan CM
  {{small|(Protocol Ministry)}}
• Himself
  {{small|(Soil and Water Conservation Ministry)}}

| term_start11 = 1 November 2004

| term_end11 = 4 December 2008

| subterm11 = Cabinet

| suboffice11 = Second Deshmukh ministry

| minister11 = *Agriculture

• Protocol

| 1blankname11 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata11 = Vilasrao Deshmukh

| 2blankname11 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata11 = R. R. Patil

| governor11 =

| predecessor11 = *Sushilkumar Shinde CM
{{small|(Agriculture Ministry)}}

• Ashok Chavan
  {{small|(Protocol Ministry)}}

| successor11 = *Himself
{{small|(Agriculture Ministry)}}

• Himself
  {{small|(Protocol Ministry)}}

| office12 = Minister of State
Government of Maharashtra

| term_start12 = 18 January 2003

| term_end12 = 4 November 2004

| subterm12 = Cabinet

| suboffice12 = Sushilkumar Shinde ministry

| minister12 = *Agriculture

• Horticulture
• Socially and Educationally Backward Classes

| 1blankname12 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata12 = Sushilkumar Shinde

| 2blankname12 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata12 = *Chhagan Bhujbal (2003)

• Vijaysingh Mohite-Patil (2003-04)

| governor12 =

| predecessor12 =

| successor12 =

| term_start13 = 18 October 1999

| term_end13 = 16 January 2003

| subterm13 = Cabinet

| suboffice13 = First Deshmukh ministry

| minister13 = *Public Works (Including Public Undertakings)

• Command Area Development
• Information Technology

| 1blankname13 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata13 = Vilasrao Deshmukh

| 2blankname13 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata13 = Chhagan Bhujbal

| governor13 =

| predecessor13 =

| successor13 =

| party = Indian National Congress

| otherparty = Independent

| nationality = Indian

| nickname = Vijay

| spouse =

| children = 3 daughters & 1 son

| education = Fergusson College B.A, ILS Law College, Pune L.L.B

| alma_mater =

| website =

| footnotes =

| date =

| year =

| source =

| width =

}}

Vijay Bhausaheb Thorat (Marathi pronunciation: [baːɭaːsaːɦeb t̪ʰoɾaːt̪], born 7 February 1953), known popularly as Balasaheb Thorat, is an Indian politician who served as the revenue minister in Maharashtra state.

He also served as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. {{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Balasaheb Bhausaheb Thorat|url=http://www.indialeader.com/ViewLeader/30216/Balasaheb-Bhausaheb-Thorat|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131064512/http://www.indialeader.com/ViewLeader/30216/Balasaheb-Bhausaheb-Thorat |archive-date=2020-01-31 |access-date=|website=India Leader}} Thorat is a senior member of the Congress Party. He was an MLA from Sangamner constituency.

Thorat is a key figure in the cooperative movement and is the founder of a milk co-operative and former president of the Sangamner District and State Cooperative Bank.

He is recognised for his work in Sangamner taluka and Akole taluka. He has founded cooperative educational institutions in Sangamner. He is currently (as of July 2024) President of Amrutvahini College of Engineering.{{cite web|url=https://www.avcoe.org/board.php|title=Board of Trustees - Amrutvahini College of Engineering|accessdate= July 3, 2024}} Previously, he served as Minister of Agriculture and as Minister of Revenue, and Khar Lands in the Government of Maharashtra.

{{cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/sonia-gandhi-appoints-balasaheb-thorat-as-clp-leader-in-maharashtra/articleshow/72249963.cms | title=Sonia Gandhi appoints Balasaheb Bhausaheb Thorat as CLP leader in Maharashtra | publisher=The Times of India | work=Prafulla Marpakwar | date=27 November 2019 | access-date=27 November 2019}}{{cite web | url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/balasaheb-thorat-is-new-maharashtra-congress-chief | title=Balasaheb Thorat is new Maharashtra Congress chief | publisher=Free Press Journal | date=3 July 2019 | access-date=27 November 2019}}{{cite web | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/7-time-mla-balasaheb-thorat-is-pick-to-end-congress-factionalism-in-maharashtra/story-RZYlgTLOqCXFyV1HuldGXI.html | title=7-time MLA Balasaheb Thorat is pick to end Congress factionalism in Maharashtra | publisher=Hindustan Times | date=14 July 2019 | access-date=28 November 2019}}