A man approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the wedding reception of NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule’s daughter Revati Sule and immediately took out his phone to show him something. The interaction caught the internet’s attention, with many people curious about the man who appeared to have PM Modi’s complete attention during the high-profile event in Delhi on August 10.
So, who was the man? It appears social media users have identified him.
Several videos that went viral showed PM Modi sitting on a sofa when the man approached him, greeted him and extended his phone towards him.
During their conversation, the man appeared to enthusiastically explain something while PM Modi listened attentively and looked at the phone screen.
The videos soon prompted several social media users to ask the same question: Who was he?
The man was identified as Mithilesh Desai, a farmer and entrepreneur from Maharashtra who has spent years working on the cultivation of jackfruit, earning him the nickname “Jackfruit King of India”.
According to several local reports, Desai’s entry into farming followed an unconventional path. Originally from Ratnagiri, he was raised in a farming family and later pursued Agricultural Engineering at MPKV, Rahuri. He also spent some time preparing for the UPSC examinations before eventually deciding to return to agriculture.
Instead of pursuing a traditional career, Desai chose farming as his full-time profession. His background in agricultural engineering helped him explore ways of combining cultivation with research, processing and commercialisation.
His efforts eventually led to his association with Jackfruitking Agro Producer Company Limited, where he has worked towards promoting jackfruit cultivation and building an agricultural enterprise around the crop. His work has also included a focus on organic farming and sustainable agricultural methods.
Desai has developed jackfruit plantations featuring more than 86 varieties sourced from different parts of the world. He has also explored methods of processing the fruit and converting various parts of the crop into commercially viable products.
His work extends beyond cultivating jackfruit and selling it in the market. He has experimented with the use of jackfruit seeds, leaves, bark and other plant components to create value-added products. He has also been involved in food processing using jackfruit, cashews, mangoes and other fruits and vegetables.
Desai has additionally worked with farmers through a Farmer Producer Organisation, aiming to establish a more organised market for the crop and provide farmers with additional avenues to generate income from their produce.
It was against this backdrop that Desai’s interaction with PM Modi at Revati Sule’s reception became a topic of discussion online.
Revati Sule, the granddaughter of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, married Nagpur-based industrialist Sarang Lakhani in Mumbai in June.
Her wedding reception was held at the Pawar family’s 6, Janpath residence in New Delhi on Monday evening. The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among several other prominent guests.
