Vijay Jawaharlal Darda (born 14 May 1950,Yavatmal) is a politician from Indian National Congress party, and a Member of the Parliament of India representing Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha since 1998, having been elected for three consecutive terms into the upper house of the Indian Parliament. He is the chairman of the Lokmat Media Group. He is also the President of the Akhil Bhartiya Sakal Jain Samaj. Darda was President of the Indian Newspaper Society, New Delhi from 1997 to 1998. He continues to be a member of its executive committee. Early life and political career Darda was born in a Shwetambar Jain Family in Yavatmal. His father, Jawaharlal Darda, was a freedom fighter during the independence struggle of India. Jawaharlal Darda launched Lokmat, a daily Marathi newspaper on December 15, 1971, in Nagpur. Vijay J Darda received a diploma in Journalism and Printing Technology from Mumbai University. In 1998, he contested his first Rajya Sabha election and won as an independent candidate against the Congress candidate Ram Pradhan. After winning as an independent candidate, Congress party nominated him for the 2004 and 2010 Rajya Sabha elections in which he secured victory. Darda was elected and served as the chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) for 2010–11. Vijay Darda on 28 June 2022 presented a cheque worth Rs 71 lakh to defence minister of India Rajnath Singh and Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande on behalf of Lokmat Foundation for the construction of houses for the soldiers guarding the War Memorial in Kargil. Kargil War Memorial was constructed in Kargil in 2004 on the national highway NH-1D from Srinagar to Leh after the Kargil war victory in 1999. Since this place is very close to the Pakistan border and there is a strong possibility of a terror attack here, an Army contingent has been deployed for its security. Kargil War Memorial Home for Jawans has been built with contribution from Lokmat Foundation and funds collected from members of the public. The War Memorial Home was dedicated to the jawans by Vijay Darda in presence of Rajendra Darda, Brig U S Anand, Brig B S Multani, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta and Major General Nagendra Singh at Dras (Ladakh) on 23rd Kargil Vijay Diwas on 26th July 2022. In 1986, he organised All India Kabaddi Gold Trophy Tournament at Yavatmal to promote the Indian game at an international level. When