Information Technology & Cultural Affairs
Three-term MLA, Bandra West (Vandre West)
Ashish Babaji Shelar is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a three-term Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the Vandre West (Bandra West) constituency in Mumbai. He currently serves as Cabinet Minister for Information Technology and Cultural Affairs in the Government of Maharashtra under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis — overseeing two portfolios that together shape Maharashtra's digital future and its relationship with its cultural past.
His career arc is distinctive in Indian politics for its comprehensiveness. Beginning as a young RSS swayamsevak in the 1980s, Shelar rose through the ranks of the ABVP student movement (becoming Mumbai Secretary), the BJP Yuva Morcha (becoming Mumbai President), and finally into electoral politics — first as a BMC corporator from Khar West, then as an MLC in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (2012–14), before winning his first Assembly election from Bandra West in 2014 by defeating Congress strongman Baba Siddiqui by nearly 27,000 votes.
Within the BJP organization, Shelar served as President of Mumbai BJP for three consecutive terms — an unusual tenure that reflects both the central leadership's confidence in his organizational abilities and his own effectiveness in managing the party apparatus across India's largest and most complex urban constituency. During his presidency, the BJP's footprint in Mumbai expanded significantly, culminating in the party's strong performance across Maharashtra's urban seats.
Beyond electoral politics, Shelar's career uniquely bridges governance, sport, and culture. As the former BCCI Treasurer, he managed the finances of the world's richest cricket board. As former President of the Mumbai Cricket Association, he oversaw Wankhede Stadium and cricket development across Maharashtra. As current President of the Mumbai District Football Association, he champions grassroots football development across 350+ clubs.
As IT Minister, he is spearheading Maharashtra's first dedicated AI Policy — making it the first Indian state with a comprehensive AI governance framework — and driving the establishment of India's first AI University. As Cultural Affairs Minister, he personally led Maharashtra's delegation to UNESCO in Paris to receive the World Heritage certificate for 12 Maratha-era forts from the Shivaji Maharaj era, and has launched an unprecedented statewide heritage conservation master plan covering 500 temples, 60 forts, and 1,800 stepwells across Maharashtra.
