Vishwajeet Kadam’s first election to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha came under tragic conditions; he contested the by-polls in 2018 which were necessitated a year before the scheduled elections in 2019 because of his father Dr Patangrao Kadam’s death after a prolonged illness. For this election, the BJP did not field a candidate against Vishwajeet ensuring his victory. The senior Kadam had been representing the Palus-Kadegaon constituency in Sangli since 1985 and has held several senior positions in the government. But his biggest contribution is the educational empire of Bharati Vidyapeeth, that he set up which runs numerous institutes offering varied streams of study.
In 2014, Vishwajeet had contested the Lok Sabha elections from Pune but lost to the BJP. As the president of the youth wing of the Congress, he had a good connect with the party workers and like his father, enjoys good relations across parties. It is said that the BJP had welcomed him into the party but Vishwajeet stuck to the Congress, the party his father had been part of for almost four decades.
Kadam’s journey has been one that exemplifies how to turn adversity into an opportunity through hard work. Born into a farmer family in Sonsal village in Sangli, he had to walk five kilometers to a school every day and became the first person from his hamlet to clear the SSC examinations at that time. He enrolled under the ‘earn and learn scheme’ at a college run by the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha in Satara and was inspired by the organisation’s ideals and community service. After college, he started teaching at an institute in Pune run by the same Rayat Shikshan Sanstha. In 1964 he set up Bharati Vidyapeeth to provide good quality education. While he got busy in running his educational institute and subsequently entered politics, he continued studying, completing a law degree and even a PhD thesis.
Realising the importance of providing employment and building a large base of support, Kadam set up cooperatives such as a cooperative bank, sugar factory, poultry farms and spinning mills. Over this political career, he held several positions and ministries including the forest ministry in Maharashtra.
Vishwajeet was inducted into the government in 2019 as a minister of state for numerous departments including Marathi language, minority affairs, food and civil supplies and agriculture and cooperatives, which are key to the development of rural areas. Along with his uncle and other members of the management, he leads the Bharati Vidyapeeth which has 29 institutes and campuses across western Maharashtra and one in Delhi as well.
To pay tribute to the senior Kadam’s contribution to education, a statue of Patangraon Kadam was unveiled on Teacher’s Day this year in his hometown.
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