his resignation as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Through a legal battle, Eknath Shinde claimed that he had the support of the majority of Shiv Sena members, and the Election Commission of India recognized his faction as the legitimate Shiv Sena party, effectively granting him control over the party. Personal life Thackeray has always had a keen interest in photography and has exhibited his collection of aerial shots of various forts of Maharashtra at the Jehangir Art Gallery in 2004. He has also taken photographs of wildlife including those of the Kanha, Gir, Ranthambore, Bharatpur national parks. Due to these experiences he named his first photography exhibition in 1999 as "Live and Let Live. He has also published photo-books Maharashtra Desh (2010) and Pahava Vitthal (2011), capturing various aspects of Maharashtra and the warkaris during Pandharpur Wari respectively in the two books. On 16 July 2012, Thackeray was admitted to Lilavati Hospital after he reported chest pain. He underwent an angioplasty and all the three blockages in his arteries were successfully removed. On 12 November 2021, he underwent a cervical spine surgery at the HN Reliance Hospital. Family Thackeray is married to Rashmi Thackeray and has two sons, Aaditya and Tejas. Rashmi Thackeray (née Patankar) is the editor of Saamana and Marmik. She is the daughter of Madhav Patankar who runs his family business and comes from a middle-class family and also a RSS member. She lived in suburban Dombivli and did her Bachelor of Commerce degree from V G Vaze College in Mulund. She joined the Life Insurance Corporation of India as a contract employee in 1987. She became the friend of Raj Thackeray 's sister Jaywanti and through her came into contact with Uddhav Thackeray. Later they got married in 1989. The elder son Aaditya is the president of the Yuva Sena. He was serving as Cabinet Minister of Tourism and Environment Government of Maharashtra. The younger son Tejas is an Indian conservationist and wildlife researcher. See also Uddhav Thackeray ministry Political families of India Political families of Maharashtra Notes References External links Maharashtra Chief Minister's profile 1960 births Living people Chief Ministers of Maharashtra Marathi politicians Maharashtra politicians Shiv Sena politicians Indian Hindus Politicians from Mumbai Bal Thackeray Far-right politicians in India Thackeray family