Anish Gawande

Anish Gawande (Born 26 August 1996) is an Indian politician, LGBTQ+ rights advocate, and a national spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction). He is recognised as the first openly gay individual to be appointed as a national spokesperson of a major political party in India.

Early life and education Gawande was raised in Mumbai and attended Greenlawns School, Worli, and Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort. He studied Comparative Literature at Columbia University and later pursued postgraduate studies in intellectual history and public policy at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Political career In August 2024, Gawande was appointed as a national spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction). His appointment was widely described as historic due to him being openly gay, marking a milestone for LGBTQ+ representation in Indian politics.

In Maharashtra politics, Gawande condemned controversial remarks made by a BJP legislator against senior opposition leaders, calling them a “new low” in public discourse.

Personal life Gawande is openly gay and has spoken publicly about the challenges of being openly queer in Indian political spaces.