Dattatray Vithoba Bharne

Dattatray Vithoba Bharne is an Indian politician. He is a three-time MLA for the Indapur Assembly constituency, having first won election to the post during the 2014 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election. He is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Ajit Pawar faction of the party during its 2023 split. He is currently an MLA and the state sports and youth welfare minister. Previously, he served as a minister in the Thackeray Ministry and as the Guardian Minister of Solapur District.

Early life and career Bharne was born into a wealthy farming family and has completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He became Director of the Chhatrapati Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana in 1992. He also joined the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank as a director in 1996, becoming head of the bank in 2000. In 2002, he also became head of the Karkhana.

Political career Bharne contested and won the 2014 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election in Indapur constituency as a candidate for the Nationalist Congress Party. He also won re-election in 2019, serving as a minister in the Thackeray Ministry and as the Guardian Minister of Solapur District. Bharne won the election by a margin of 19410 votes. He was later made the state sports and youth welfare minister. He was reportedly initially angry over his portfolio, refusing to answer calls from Ajit Pawar and going overseas with his family to express his discontent. In May 2025, Bharne was made president of a newly formed committee to restructure Maharashtra's youth policy. This committee was criticised for its lack of women and opposition MLAs.