Rathod won from
Digras Assembly Constituency representing Shiv Sena in the
2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election. He polled 143,115 votes and defeated his nearest rival, Thakare Manikrao Govindrao of the
Indian National Congress by a margin of 28,775 votes. Sanjay Rathod began his political career at the age of 21 by joining the Shiv Shakti Organisation. He became Active in Shiv Sena as a Shiv Sainik since 1995-96, the Sena was strongly built in the district as a result and In 1998-1999, Balasaheb Thackeray selected him as the Yavatmal district chief of Shiv Sena. He became Active in the Darwha-Ner constituency of the then Minister of State for Home Affairs
Manikrao Thakre from 2002-2003. He became an MLA for the first time on Shiv Sena ticket winning the
2004 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election from
Darwha Assembly constituency, which ceased to exist from 2008. Later, he was elected from Digras constituency consecutively for four terms in
2009,
2014,
2019 and
2024. In the 2019 Assembly election, he polled 136,824 votes and defeated his nearest rival,
Sanjay Deshmukh, an independent candidate, by a huge margin of 63,607 votes. In 2014, he defeated Vasant Ghuikhedkar of the NCP, by a margin of 79,864 votes. He served as a minister of state in the
Ministry of Revenue (Maharashtra). In 2019 he was minister of
Forest Department of Maharashtra,
Disaster Management &
Relief & Rehabilitation. He also served as guardian minister of
Yavatmal district twice in 2014 and 2020, and in
Washim district in 2015. He resigned from the cabinet in 2021. In 2022, he was appointed a cabinet minister in the
Ministry of Food and Drug Administration (Maharashtra) and in 2023, he served as cabinet minister in the
Ministry of Soil and Water Conservation. ==See also==