In 2012, Vijay Darda was named in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet for an alleged role in the coal scam. Formerly, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Indian Parliament) since 1998 having been elected for three consecutive terms till 2016. He is a politician with the Indian National Congress, currently the main Opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He was also the President of the Indian Newspaper Society. He was the Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulation (India), an organization that audits procedures to certify circulation figures of publications. The son of Jawaharlal Darda is the Chairman of Lokmat Media Private Limited, the company that publishes Lokmat newspaper.
