The two-time Lok Sabha MP representing Mumbai South Central constituency, Rahul Ramesh Shewale from Shiv Sena has quite a long history in politics. He was a corporator of BMC and was nominated the Chairman of the BMC Standing Committee, four times from 2010 – 2014, before running for parliament.
He was elected as MP in the 16th (2009) and 17th (2014) Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai South Central, one of the biggest constituencies in Mumbai, comprising areas such as Chembur, Anuksathi Nagar, Wadala, Sion Koliwada, and Dharavi. Recently, the bid for redevelopment project of Dharavi, one of the largest informal settlements in Asia was won by the Adani group.
In 2019, Shewale got 54.21% of total votes, 4,23,743 votes in Mumbai’s South Central constituency. He defeated his nearest rival, Eknath M. Gaikwad of the INC, by more than 20% of votes.
After the split of the Shiv Sena party, Shewale left Uddhav Thackeray and chose to align with Eknath Shinde’s faction.
Who is Rahul Ramesh Shewale?
| Name | Rahul Shewale |
| Age | 50 years |
| Political Party | Shiv Sena |
| Educational Qualification | Diploma holder in Civil Engineering from Government Polytechnic, Bandra |
| Profession | Member of Parliament |
| Enrolled as Voter in | 172 Anushakti Nagar (Maharashtra) constituency, at Serial no 570 in Part no 66 |
| rr.shewale@sansad.nic.in | |
| Contact Number | Tel : (022) 25582244, 09869982244 |
| Address | New Mandala Colony, opp. Gate No.6, Sion – Trombay Road |
Online presence
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsrahulshewale/?hl=en
- Twitter: @shewale_rahul
Criminal cases
There are no pending criminal cases against the MP.
Assets and liabilities of Rahul Shewale
Details | Holdings in 2014 | Holdings in 2019 | Change from 2014-2019 |
| Movable assets | 1,21,04,397 | Rs 1,28,81,363 | Rs. 7,76,966 |
| Immovable assets | Nil | Rs 60,00,000 | Rs. 60,00,000 |
| Total Assets (Movable + Immovable) | 1,33,04,397 | Rs 1,88,81,363 | Rs. 55,76,966 |
| Liabilities | 1,05,02,345 | Rs 77,78,954 | Rs. -2,723,391 |
Positions held by Rahul Ramesh Shewale
Between 2010 – 2014, Shewale was the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.
In May 2014, he was elected to 16th Lok Sabha. From September 2014 to May 2019, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs. He was also a member of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
From April 2015 to May 2019, he was a member of the Railway Convention Committee (R.C.C.).
In May 2019, he was re-elected as the MP of Mumbai South Central Constituency to the 17th Lok Sabha. From 24th July 2019 onwards, he was a member of the Committee on Public Accounts.
From September 2019 to September 2022, he resumed being a member of the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs.
He also continued to be a member of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers. From September 13th 2022 onwards, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas.
[Source: https://sansad.in/ls.]
Read more: Lok Sabha 2024: Know your MP — Poonam Mahajan, Mumbai North Central
Rahul Ramesh Shewale’s performance in parliament
Shewale has done fairly well in terms of attendance and debates. He attained 94% percent attendance during his five-year-tenure.
| MP | Attendance | No of Debates participated | No of questions asked | Private Member’s Bill |
| Rahul Shewale | 94 % | 143 | 531 | 13 |
| National average | 79% | 46% | 210 | 1.5 |
| State (Maharashtra) average | 74% | 57% | 386 | 2.9 |
He participated in 143 debates, which included topics such as:
- The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024
- Curbing online financial frauds
- Pollution in Mumbai Metropolitan Region
- Survey of damage to crops in Dharashiv, due to rainfall
He asked 531 questions in parliament, which is higher than the national and state average of 293 and 453 respectively. These include:
- Whether the Government proposes to increase cargo handling capacity at its sea and river ports by 2047.
- Whether the garment industry has been facing the negative impact of rising imports of Man-Made Fibers (MMFs) from countries such as China and Bangladesh.
- Whether the Government proposes to formulate specific welfare schemes for gig and platform workers and unorganised sector workers.
- Whether the Indian Railways has made any assessment of railway land encroached by slums at present; He also asked for the number of slum dwellers who were removed from railway land since the announcement of PMAY, and the number of slum dwellers rehabilitated.
Link to the PRS page: The full list of the questions the MP asked and the position he took in debates, is available here.
Read more: Lok Sabha 2024: Know your MP — Gajanan Kirtikar, Mumbai North West
Rahul Ramesh Shewale’s MPLADS spending
| Entitlement received for Mumbai North West constituency (2019-24) | Rs. 17 Cr |
| Recommended amount for work | Rs. 13.03 Cr |
| Amount sanctioned | Rs. 12.19 Cr |
| Funds released | Rs. 7 Cr |
| Expenditure incurred | Rs. 4.53 Cr |
| Unspent balance | Rs. 2.8295 Cr |
| % of utilisation of funds | 62.71% |
Not much data is available on the works that were commissioned by the MP, with only 16 works mentioned in 2019, and no data on later years.
In 2019, Rs. 24.5 crore was used for projects related to drains, roads, community centres, and vyayamshalas (fitness centres). As for how many of these have been completed, the data is not available.
| Date | Main items | Gross expenditure |
| 2019-20: | Construction of Drains Construction of Community Centers Construction of Vyayamshala | Rs.1.27 Cr |
| 2021-22 | Data not available | |
| 2022-23 | Data not available | |
| 2023-24 | Data not available |
Rahul Ramesh Shewale in the news
In February of this year, news reports surfaced on the stalling of demolition and reconstruction of the arterial Sion railway over bridge (ROB), which provides a crucial link between the eastern and western parts of the city.
Experts of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, had declared the ROB unsafe and had recommended its demolition and reconstruction. It was no surprise then that nearby residents were unhappy that the construction was halted by MP Rahul Shewale at the 11th hour of demolition.
While Shewale cited the need for public consultation as being the reason for the halting, residents questioned the move, given the urgency of removing the unsafe bridge.
In March of this year, Shewale spearheaded a proposal to the state government to change the names of eight railway stations in Mumbai removing their English names. Shewale stated that the move is to ‘decolonise’ the names of the stations.
The Mumbai Central station will be renamed as the Nana Jagannath Shankarsheth station. Curry Road will be renamed as Lalbaug, Sandhurst Road as Dongri, Marine Lines as Mumbadevi and Charni Road as Girgaon.
The move has brought criticism from historians and academics who have stated that many of these names do not have any direct colonial connections, and changing their names is an erasure of the city’s history.