Former Member of Parliament
Lokneta Ramsheth Thakur
Former Member of Parliament
Ramsheth Changu Thakur was born in Nhava Khadi, a seaside Agri-Koli village in Panvel taluka, to Changu Kana Thakur and Bhagubai (Bhagirathi). The eldest of nine siblings, young Ram studied while helping with farming, sand dredging in the creek and daily-wage work.
Shaped by the ideals of Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil at a Rayat Shikshan Sanstha school and at Chhatrapati Shivaji College, Satara, he became a teacher. He went on to become a successful builder, a two-time Member of Parliament for Kulaba (Raigad), an educationist and a generous social worker. The people themselves gave him the title "Lokneta" (people's leader) for his generosity.
After completing his B.A. and B.Ed., Ram Thakur Sir taught at V. K. High School, Panvel, and from 1974-75 at CIDCO's "The First New Bombay School", Vashi, the first school in Navi Mumbai. In 1976 he started a construction business with a single ₹10,000 contract. On 1 April 1978 it became M/s S. C. Thakur & Brothers, which went on to complete major projects such as the Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal.
Though he resigned from teaching, the teacher in him never retired. He gave the wealth his business earned back to society through schools, colleges and help for people in need.
He stood with Lokneta D. B. Patil in the historic 1981 and 1984 agitations of project-affected farmers. In 1998 he was elected MP from Kulaba on a Peasants and Workers Party ticket, and was re-elected with a large majority in 1999. In Parliament he repeatedly raised the issues of JNPT and CIDCO project-affected families, the 12.5% developed-plot scheme and the Navi Mumbai airport.
In 2004 he decided never to contest an election again, but did not stop his social and party work. He joined the Congress in 2004 and the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014, giving new direction to politics in Raigad and Panvel.
On 24 February 1973 he married Shakuntala, daughter of senior leader Janardan Bhagat. They have two sons, Prashant and Paresh. Prashant Thakur has served as President of the Panvel Municipal Council, MLA and Chairman of CIDCO.
He regards his parents and his father-in-law Janardan Bhagat as his greatest inspiration, which is why schools and an education trust carry their names.
Four generations of the Thakur family of Nhava Khadi.
Ram is the eldest of nine siblings.
Ram was the first child of Changu Kana Thakur and Bhagubai of the northern hamlet of Nhava Khadi. The family farmed and also dredged sand from the creek. His father was a strict disciplinarian who insisted on cleanliness and order; his mother was gentle and calm. Pilgrimages with his father to Pandharpur, Alandi and Ganagapur gave him a spiritual grounding early in life.
After 1956 the village embankment that held back the sea began to give way. Salt water swallowed the fields, fresh-water sources turned brackish, and the Thakur family eventually had to move to the new Shivajinagar settlement near Gavhan. In the holidays Ram went out on the boats with his father to dredge sand, or worked on the Panvel-Uran railway line for one rupee a day.
Ram was enrolled at the Nhava Khadi primary school in 1956-57. He studied the 3rd and 4th standards at Dagaddhum and Unegaon in Mangaon taluka with his cousin Dasharath Patil, a teacher, returned to Nhava Khadi for the 5th and 6th, and completed the 7th at Gavhan.
Through the efforts of Janardan Bhagat, Dattusheth Patil and D. B. Patil, Rayat Shikshan Sanstha opened Chhatrapati Shivaji Vidyalaya at Gavhan in 1963-64. Its first classes were held in Dharma Thakur's house, some even in a veranda next to the cattle shed. Inspired by teachers who worked even without pay, Ram decided to become a teacher himself, and passed the 11th standard (matriculation) examination with good marks.
Panvel had no college in those days. On the advice of his headmaster S. B. Patil, 17-year-old Ram went with his friends to Rayat Shikshan Sanstha's Chhatrapati Shivaji College in Satara. He treasured all his life the ten rupees his uncle Hari pressed into his hand as he left, with the blessing "study hard".
Living frugally in the college hostel, he graduated with a B.A. in 1972. Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil's philosophy of building character made those four years unforgettable. He then earned his B.Ed. from the Government College of Education, Panvel.
CIDCO was set up in 1970 to build Navi Mumbai, and about 55,000 acres of land in 95 villages across Uran, Panvel and Belapur were acquired. Under D. B. Patil, the Jameen Bachav Sanyukta Ladha Samiti fought for about 14 years for fair compensation.
The farmers' agitations of 1981 and 1984 were a defining ordeal in Ramsheth's life: he endured the first and threw himself into the second. The struggle paved the way for the 12.5% developed-plot scheme. As an MP he kept pressing for jobs, plots and the regularisation of village homes for families affected by JNPT, CIDCO and BPCL projects.
After the 1979 Zilla Parishad elections he entered active politics with the PWP, and played a key role in Vivek Patil's 1995 assembly win.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kulaba, and used not only his own MP fund but also unspent funds of earlier MPs on development works.
When the government fell after 13 months, he was re-elected in 1999 with a huge majority, raising issues such as project-affected families, LPG distribution and SEZs in Parliament.
When the Lok Sabha was dissolved in 2004, he announced, "I will not contest any election again." On 5 December 2004 he joined the Congress with thousands of workers. In the 2009 assembly election he broke the PWP's hold on Panvel and got Prashant Thakur elected MLA. When Rahul Gandhi urged him to contest in 2014, he politely declined.
On 11 July 2014 he led a road blockade demanding the scrapping of the Kharghar toll plaza. When the government ignored it, Panvel Congress office-bearers resigned on 9 October 2014, and on 12 October 2014 Prashant Thakur resigned as MLA.
In 2014 Lokneta Ramsheth Thakur and Prashant Thakur joined the BJP. Panvel became a municipal corporation in 2016. The BJP won 51 of 78 seats in its first election in 2017, and in 2026 won 60 of 78 seats for an outright majority. Also in 2026, the BJP won the presidency of the Raigad Zilla Parishad for the first time.
Click a period to see the milestones from that time.
Some awards make a person great; some people make an award great. Many institutions have honoured Lokneta Ramsheth Thakur for his work in social, political and educational life. In his own words, the joy of receiving the Rayat Mauli Award was greater than the joy of being elected to Parliament.
Given by the family of Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil, this is the honour Ramsheth considers the highest of his life.
Presented by Thailand's Labour Minister at an Indo-Thai friendship conference.
Conferred by the India International Friendship Society, New Delhi.
Awarded by the Raigad district BJP Scheduled Castes Morcha in tribute to his untiring public service.
Presented at the 45th death-anniversary function of Ismailsaheb Mohammadsaheb Mulla.
Presented by MP Shrirang Barne for inspiring work across social, educational and political fields.
Given by Rayat Sevak Sangh, Satara, for selfless service to the institution.
For outstanding service to society.
Conferred by Holkar Pratishthan, Karjat (Raigad).
Presented at a ceremony in Shrirampur.
For social work.
Given by the Priyadarshini Foundation to the Shri Ramsheth Thakur Samajik Vikas Mandal.
Thoughts of a leader shaped by the legacy of Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil and the values of his parents.
God kept giving to me. What I received is not mine, it is His, and I am returning it to Him in many forms.— Lokneta Ramsheth Thakur
Whatever is earned by hard work must never be wasted.— A lesson from his father, Changu Kana Thakur
What will a statue achieve? Bhagatsaheb wanted the next generation educated; let us fulfil that wish by founding an education trust in his name.— On founding the Janardan Bhagat Shikshan Prasarak Sanstha
Spend whatever it takes: schools must be beautiful, clean and modern.— On building schools
The joy of the Rayat Mauli Award is greater than the joy of being elected to Parliament.— On receiving the Rayat Mauli Award
I have decided not to contest elections again; from now on I only want to work for the party and the people.— On retiring from electoral politics
Source: "Ramparva" by Vijay Indukeshav Pawar (May 2026)
