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Sharad Govindrao Pawar (Marathi pronunciation: əɾəd̪ pəʋaːɾ born 12 December 1940) is an Indian
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He has served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on four occasions. He has held the posts of Minister of Defence and Minister of Agriculture in the
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
. He is president of the
Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party ...
(NCP), which he founded in 1999, after separating from the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
. He leads the NCP delegation in the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legisl ...
, the upper chamber of the Indian parliament. He is the chairperson of Maha Vikas Aghadi. Pawar comes from Baramati of Maharashtra. He is the patriarch of one of Maharashtra's most influential political families and a prominent face in Maharashtra politics. Other politicians from the family include his daughter Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar his nephew, Rohit Rajendra Pawar a nephew's son and other members of his extended family. Outside of politics, Pawar served as the Chairman of the
Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...
BCCI from 2005 to 2008 and as the president of the International Cricket Council from 2010 to 2012. He was the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association for many years. In 2017, the Indian government conferred upon him Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour of India.


Personal life and family

Pawar is one of the eleven children born to Govindrao Pawar and Shardabai Pawar. The ancestors of Govindrao had moved to Baramati from the nearby Satara. Govindrao had a long career in ''Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh'', a Baramati Farmers' Cooperative. He also managed ''Shahu boarding'', a students' hostel, in the 1940s. In 1950s he was instrumental in setting up cooperative sugar mills in the Baramati region. Shardabai Pawar was elected to the district local board three times between 1937 and 1952. She looked after the family farm at Katewadi, ten kilometres from Baramati. Pawar studied at Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC) in Pune. He was an average student but active in student politics. Most of his siblings were well educated and successful in their respective professions. Vasantrao, the eldest brother of Pawar and a lawyer, was murdered over a land deal by a man who was suspected to be a hired assassin. Pratap Pawar, Pawar's younger brother, runs the
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
daily newspaper '' Sakal''. Pawar's nephew, Ajit Pawar, is a politician and served as the
Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra The Deputy Chief Minister Of Maharashtra is the deputy head of the executive branch of the Government of Maharashtra and the second highest ranking minister of the Council of Ministers. List of deputy chief ministers See also *List of govern ...
. His grandnephew Rohit Rajendra Pawar represents the Karjat constituency in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. Pawar is married to Pratibha (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...
Shinde), daughter of the test cricketer
Sadashiv Shinde Sadashiv Ganpatrao "Sadu" Shinde (18 August 1923 – 22 June 1955) was an Indian cricketer who played in seven Test matches from 1946 to 1952. His daughter, Pratibha Pawar, is the wife of politician Sharad Pawar. A leg-spinner, Shinde was de ...
. They have a daughter, Supriya Sule, who represents the Baramati constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha. He is the oldest and senior most member of Pawar political dynastic family of Maharashtra. The family have 2 members of parliament and 2 members of legislative assembly in state assembly, among them Ajit Pawar was the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. The family have their political party. It is one of the most powerful political families of not only in Maharashtra but also in India, many members have in number of authoritative positions. In 1999, Pawar was diagnosed with oral cancer due to the habit of chewing gutka, and had oral surgery in April 2004. In March 2021, he underwent surgery for his
gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath the liver, althoug ...
problem.


Political career


Early career

Pawar's first political activity was when he was a schoolboy, he organized a protest march for Goan Independence in ''Pravaranagar'' in 1956. At college he was active in student politics. Although his older lawyer brother belonged to Peasants and Workers Party, young Pawar preferred the Congress party and joined
Youth Congress The Indian Youth Congress is the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. The Indian Youth Congress was a department of the Indian National Congress from the period just after the Partition of India in 1947 until the late 1960s. While p ...
in 1958. He later became the president of ''Poona'' district (now Pune district) youth Congress in 1962. By 1964, he was one of the two secretaries of Maharashtra youth congress and in regular contact with influential leaders of the party.


1967–1978

Early in his career, Pawar was regarded as a protégé of Yashwantrao Chavan, the most influential politician from Maharashtra at that time. At the young age of 27 in 1967, Pawar was nominated as the candidate for the Baramati constituency of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly over more established members by the undivided
Congress Party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
. He won the election and represented the constituency on and off for decades. In 1969, when the Congress party split after the
1969 Indian presidential election The Election Commission of India held indirect 5th presidential elections of India on 16 August 1969. Varahagiri Venkata Giri with 420,077 votes won in a runoff election over his rival Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy who got 405,427 votes. Schedule The e ...
he opted for the
Congress(R) Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) was created in 1969; it was created and led by Indira Gandhi. Initially this party was known as Congress (R), but it soon came to be generally known as the New Congress or Syndicate. The letter 'R' st ...
faction of prime minister Indira Gandhi along with his mentor Yashwantrao Chavan. As the MLA of Baramati in the early 1970s, he was instrumental in building percolation tanks during a severe drought in Maharashtra. Like most Congress party politicians from rural western Maharashtra, he was also heavily involved in the politics of the local cooperative sugar mills and other member run cooperatives societies. In early 1970s, the then chief minister Vasantrao Naik had been power for a long time and there was jockeying for succession among different factions of the state Congress party. At that time, looking to the future leadership of the party, Yashwantrao Chavan persuaded Naik to bring Pawar into his cabinet as state home affairs minister. Pawar continued as home affairs minister in the 1975-77 government of Shankarrao Chavan, who succeeded Naik as the chief minister.


1978-1987

In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, Congress party, under Indira Gandhi, lost power to the
Janata Alliance The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...
. Taking responsibility for the loss of large number of seats in Maharashtra, chief minister Shankarrao Chavan resigned shortly afterwards and was replaced by Vasantdada Patil. Later in the year, the Congress party split, with Pawar's mentor, Yashwantrao Chavan joining one faction, Congress (U), and Indira Gandhi leading her own faction, Congress (I). Pawar himself joined Congress (U). In the state assembly elections held early in 1978, the two Congress parties ran separately but then formed an alliance to keep power under Vasantdada Patil and deny it to
Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nat ...
which emerged as the biggest single party after the election, but without a majority. Pawar served as Minister of Industry and Labour in the Patil government. In July 1978, Pawar broke away from the Congress (U) party to form a coalition government with the Janata Party. In the process, at the age of 38, he became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) government was dismissed in February 1980, following Indira Gandhi's return to power. In the 1980 elections Congress (I) won the majority in the state assembly, and A.R. Antulay took over as chief minister. Pawar took over the Presidency of his Indian National Congress (Socialist) ''Congress (S)'' party in 1983. For the first time, he won the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-pas ...
election from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won the state assembly election of March 1985 from Baramati and preferred to return to state politics, and resigned his Lok Sabha seat. ''Congress (S),'' won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly, and Pawar became the
leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
of PDF coalition which included the BJP, PWP, and the Janata party.Palshikar, S., Birmal, N. and Ghotale, V., Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of Politics and Public Administration, University of Pune, 2010 CAS Occasional Paper Series: No. 4. page 1

/ref>


1987–1990

His return to Congress (I) in 1987 has been cited as a reason for the rise of the
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a Right-wing politics, right-wing to Far-right politics, far-right Marathi people, Marathi Regionalism (politics), regionalist and Hindu nationalism, Hindu ultranationalist political party in India f ...
at that time. Pawar had stated at the time, "the need to save the Congress Culture in Maharashtra", as his reason for returning to Congress. In June 1988,
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of th ...
and Congress President
Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to bec ...
decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as the chief minister. Pawar had the task of checking the rise of the
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a Right-wing politics, right-wing to Far-right politics, far-right Marathi people, Marathi Regionalism (politics), regionalist and Hindu nationalism, Hindu ultranationalist political party in India f ...
in state politics, which was a potential challenge to the dominance of Congress in the state. In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Congress won 28 seats out of 48 in Maharashtra. In the state assembly elections of February 1990, the alliance between the
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a Right-wing politics, right-wing to Far-right politics, far-right Marathi people, Marathi Regionalism (politics), regionalist and Hindu nationalism, Hindu ultranationalist political party in India f ...
and the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
posed a stiff challenge to Congress. Congress fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out of 288. Pawar was sworn in as chief minister again on 4 March 1990 with the support of 12 independent or unaffiliated members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).


Early 1990s

During the course of the 1991 election campaign, former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to bec ...
was assassinated. The party elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as the party president. It was expected that the party president would become the prime minister in the event of a Congress victory. However, Pawar at that time had talked about the distinction between party president and prime minister. Also since the Congress contingent from Maharashtra was the largest, Pawar felt he had a legitimate claim for the post of prime minister. However, Pawar eventually decided not to enter the contest, and the Congress Parliamentary Party (party MPs) unanimously elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as their leader, and he was sworn in as prime minister on 21 June 1991. Rao named Pawar as
defence minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...
. On 26 June 1991, Pawar took over that portfolio, and held it until March 1993. After Pawar's successor in Maharashtra, Sudhakarrao Naik, stepped down after the disastrous handling of the Bombay riots, Rao asked Pawar to serve again as chief minister of the state. Pawar was sworn in as chief minister for his fourth term on 6 March 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai was rocked by a series of bomb blasts, on 12 March 1993. Pawar's response to the blasts attracted controversy. More than a decade later, Pawar admitted that he had "deliberately misled" people following the bombings, by saying that there were "13 and not 12" explosions, and had added the name of a Muslim-dominated locality to show that people from both communities had been affected. He attempted to justify this deception by claiming that it was a move to prevent communal riots, by falsely portraying that both Hindu and Muslim communities in the city had been affected adversely. He also admitted to lying about evidence recovered and misleading people into believing that it pointed to the Tamil Tigers as possible suspects.


Mid-to-late 1990s

In 1993, the Deputy Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation,
G. R. Khairnar Govind Ragho Khairnar is a former civil servant in Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation who rose from the rank of Clerk to Deputy Commissioner. He was known for his uprightness and fearlessness while carrying out his duties in the face o ...
made a series of accusations against Pawar for being involved in corruption and protecting criminals. Though Khairnar could not produce any evidence in support of his claims, it inevitably affected Pawar's popularity. Notable social worker Anna Hazare started a fast-unto-death to demand the expulsion of 12 officers of the Maharashtra state forest department who had been accused of corruption. The opposition parties accused Pawar's government of trying to shield the corrupt officers. The 1994 Gowari stampede occurred at
Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
, during the winter session of the state assembly, and killed 114 people.
Nagpur Police ''"Sadrakshṇāya Khālanīghrahaṇāya"'' ( en, To protect good and to punish evil) , formedyear = 1861 , legaljuris = Nagpur , headquarters = Katol Road, Lonand, BUPESHNAGAR, Nagpur- 440013 , stationtype = Station , stations ...
were trying to disperse almost 50,000 Gowari and Vanjari protesters using baton charges but the police created panic and triggered a stampede amongst protesters. Allegations were made that the mishap occurred because welfare minister Madhukarrao Pichad did not meet with the delegation of the Vanjari people in time. Though Pichad, accepting moral responsibility for the mishap, stepped down, this incident was another setback to Pawar's government. After 16 years of protest by the Namantar Andolan (Name-change Movement), the state government finally renamed Marathwada University as
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), formerly Marathwada University, is located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It is named after B. R. Ambedkar, an Indian jurist and political leader. The university was established on 23 Au ...
on 14 January 1994, the compromise new name being an expansion of the old name (''Namvistar'') rather than a complete change of name (''Namanatar''). As chief minister, Pawar announced few developments in university departments. New elections to the
Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislativ ...
were held in 1995. The
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a Right-wing politics, right-wing to Far-right politics, far-right Marathi people, Marathi Regionalism (politics), regionalist and Hindu nationalism, Hindu ultranationalist political party in India f ...
- BJP coalition was leading Congress in the polls, and there was widespread rebellion in the Congress party. Shiv Sena-BJP won 138 seats while Congress retained only 80 seats in the state assembly. Pawar had to step down and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi took over as chief minister on 14 March 1995. Until the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Pawar served as the
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
in the state assembly. In the 1996 General elections, Pawar won the Baramati seat in the Lok Sabha and left the state assembly. In June 1997, Pawar unsuccessfully challenged Sitaram Kesri for the post of President of the Indian National Congress. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1998, Pawar not only won his constituency, Baramati, but also led Congress to a win by a large majority of Maharashtra Lok Sabha constituencies. Congress was aligned with the
Republican Party of India (Athvale) The Republican Party of India (Athawale) ( RPI(A)) is a political party in India. The party is a splinter group of the Republican Party of India and has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The president of the pa ...
and
Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; translation: ''Socialist Party'', founded 4 October 1992) is a socialist political party in India, headquartered in New Delhi but mainly based in Uttar Pradesh, with significant presence in other states as well. With ...
for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. The Congress party won 33 Lok Sabha seats outright, and the allied Republican Party of India won 4 more, for a total of 37 out of 48 in the state. Pawar served as Leader of Opposition in the 12th Lok Sabha.


Formation of Nationalist Congress Party

In 1999, after the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to the 13th Lok Sabha were called, Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar demanded that the party needed to propose someone native-born as the prime ministerial candidate and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had entered party politics and replaced Kesri as Congress president. In response, the Congress working committee (CWC) expelled the trio for six years from the party. In response Pawar and Sangma founded the
Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party ...
in June 1999. Despite the falling out, the new party aligned with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra after the 1999 state assembly elections to prevent the Shiv Sena-BJP combine from returning to power. Pawar, however, did not return to state politics and
Vilasrao Deshmukh Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh (26 May 1945 – 14 August 2012) was an Indian politician who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, first term from 18 October 1999 to 16 January 2003 and second term, from 1 November 2004 to 5 ...
of Congress was chosen as chief minister, with Chagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as deputy chief minister.


Minister of agriculture in UPA government

After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Pawar joined the
United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single par ...
(UPA) government headed by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indi ...
as the Minister of Agriculture. He retained his portfolio when the UPA coalition government was reelected in 2009. He faced several crisis and controversies during his tenure as Agriculture minister. Critics also point out that during his tenure as the minister agriculture, he spent time on cricket in his role as the president of BCCI than on his ministerial duties.


Wheat imports

In 2007, the BJP asked for Pawar's resignation after alleging he was involved in a multi-crore Indian rupee (INR) scam involving wheat imports. In May 2007, a tender floated by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for procurement of wheat was cancelled when the lowest bid received was for US$263/ton. The government subsequently allowed private traders to purchase wheat directly from farmers that year resulting in a paucity of wheat to stock FCI granaries. By July 2007 the shortage at FCI was large enough to require import of wheat at a much higher price of 320–360 USD/ton. Taking advantage of this, traders who had domestically purchased wheat at 900 INR/ton earlier, were now offering the same to FCI at 1,300 INR/ton.


Agricultural produce prices

As the Minister of Agriculture, Pawar was consistently accused of colluding in the extreme hike in prices of agricultural produce: * Wheat import in 2007 – The Bombay High Court issued notices to Union agriculture minister Pawar, questioning the decision to import defective red wheat, and asking for a directive to submit details of procurement of the crop from different states and the exact process of importing it. * Sugar prices in 2009 – Opposition parties, including the BJP and the CPI(M) accused Pawar of engineering a steep rise in the price of sugar to the advantage of hoarders and importers. * Wheat, Sugar, Rice, and Bean prices in 2009–2010 – The opposition accused Pawar to be responsible on the issue of spiraling prices.


Farmer suicides

Since the 1990s there had been a high number of farmer suicides in India: in excess of 10,000 per year, and totalling over 200,000 between 1997 and 2010. Pawar, as the agricultural minister, in 2006 had underplayed the rate of farmer suicide in India. However, he claimed at that time that his department was taking the necessary steps to reduce the numbers. His ministry initiated a series of government inquiries to look into the causes of farmers' suicides in 2012. In 2013 Pawar admitted that the suicides was a serious issue with many factors being responsible, and he said the government was increasing investment in agriculture and raising minimum prices of crops to increase farmers' income.


Promotion of endosulfan

Even though the pesticide endosulfan has been banned, India is slow to phase it out. In spite of its known negative health effects, Pawar made a remark that endosulfan is not yet proved dangerous. This remark prompted activist Vandana Shiva to call him a corrupt minister.


Other issues

In 2012, Pawar gave up the chairmanship of the Empowered Group of Ministers investigating the 2G spectrum case, days after his appointment by the prime minister, fearing that his association with the decision-making process would drag him into the 2G Spectrum controversy. In 2011, he also decided to resign from the committee that was reviewing the draft of the anti-corruption
Lokpal bill The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, commonly known as The Lokpal Act, is an anti-corruption Act of Indian Parliament in India which "seeks to provide for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of corrup ...
after his inclusion in the committee was criticized by the anti-corruption campaigner, Anna Hazare.


Career since 2014

In January 2012, Pawar announced that he would not contest the 2014
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-pas ...
elections, in order to make way for younger leadership. Pawar is at present a member of the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legisl ...
. He was elected to the body in April 2014 for a six-year term. He lost his ministerial position when the BJP-led NDA defeated the ruling UPA government, in which Pawar was the minister of agriculture, in the general elections of 2014. Pawar's NCP also lost power in Maharashtra after the 2014 assembly elections. The BJP had won a plurality of seats in the new assembly and initially formed a minority government with the NCP. The BJP's estranged ally, the Shiv Sena later joined the BJP-led government, and that government then did not need the support of the NCP. In May 2017, Pawar ruled out being a candidate for the June 2017 Indian presidential election. In the 2019 elections to the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-pas ...
, Pawar's NCP and the Congress party had a seat-sharing arrangement. Similarly, despite their differences, the BJP and
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a Right-wing politics, right-wing to Far-right politics, far-right Marathi people, Marathi Regionalism (politics), regionalist and Hindu nationalism, Hindu ultranationalist political party in India f ...
once again contested the elections together under the
National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a centre-right to right-wing and conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded in 1998 and currently controls the government of India ...
(NDA) banner. The election gave a landslide victory to Narendra Modi's BJP. Out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, the Congress party won only one seat in the state, whereas the NCP won five seats from its stronghold of western Maharashtra. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections were soon followed by elections to the
Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislativ ...
a in October 2019. Predictions for the state's ruling BJP–Shiv Sena alliance to win by a large margin led to a steady stream of defections from the NCP to the ruling alliance. Pawar was the star campaigner for the NCP-Congress alliance in the state.His campaigning during the assembly election was credited with helping not only the NCP but also the leaderless Congress party. Against predictions, the actual voting left the ruling alliance with fewer seats than in 2014. After the election, Pawar thought that his party would remain in opposition in the new assembly. However, differences between the Shiv Sena and the BJP led to a month of political drama, with Pawar and his family playing a pivotal roles. The drama ended with the NCP coming back into power on 28 November 2019, as part of a coalition between Shiv Sena, Congress, and the NCP, led by the Shiv Sena chief, Uddhav Thackeray, as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. In June 2020, Pawar was re-elected to the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legisl ...
.


Sports administration

Pawar has interests in
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
, kabbadi, kho kho,
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
and football. He has served as the head of various sports organisations, including * Mumbai Cricket Association * Maharashtra Wrestling Association * Maharashtra Kabbadi Association * Maharashtra Kho Kho Association * Maharashtra Olympics Association *
Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...
President 2005–2008 * International Cricket Council Vice President * International Cricket Council President Pawar served as the president of Pune International Marathon Trust, which has hosted Pune International Marathon for last 22 years.


Educational institutions

Early in his public career in 1972, Pawar founded "Vidya pratishthan" for serving the educational needs of the rural poor. The organisation now runs a number of schools at all levels, and colleges specialising in subjects such as information technology, and Biotechnology in Baramati and other locations. Pawar is associated with the ''Hon. Sharad Pawar Public School,'' under the ''Shree Gurudatta Education Society''; Sharad Pawar International School,
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
and the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy, near Mumbai. Pawar is the current president of the century-old educational organisation Rayat Shikshan Sanstha.


Controversies


Criminal links

In 1992–93, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik made a statement that the state leader of
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
party and erstwhile-Chief Minister Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on
Pappu Kalani Pappu Kalani (born c. 1951) is an Indian criminal-politician from Ulhasnagar. After emerging as the leader of an organized crime syndicate in the 1980s,Quote: Suresh "Pappu" Kalani: a man who is seen as the personification of this lawlessness i ...
", a well known criminal-turned-politician. Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, later concurred with these allegations. Further, Chief Minister Naik also alleged that it was possible that Kalani and
Hitendra Thakur Hitendra Vishnu Thakur (born 3 October 1961) is an Indian politician from Virar, Maharashtra, India. He is the president of Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi, political party in the Vasai-Virar region of Maharashtra, India. He is the incumbent Member o ...
, another criminal-turned-politician from Virar, had been given tickets to contest election for the Maharashtra State Legislature at the behest of Pawar, who also put in a word for Naik with the police when the latter was arrested for his role in post- Demolition of the Babri Masjid riots in Mumbai. Pawar is also alleged to have close links with the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim through Ibrahim's henchman Lakhan Singh based in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and close relationship with
Shahid Balwa ''Shaheed'' ( ,  ,   ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
, also a suspect in the 2G spectrum case. These allegations were strengthened by the revelation about the involvement of Vinod Goenka, Balwa's business partner, in a controversial commercial project in Yerwada,
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
, which was being constructed under the same survey number as Pawar's family friend, Atul Chordia, had constructed the Panchshil Tech Park. BJP leader Eknath Khadse alleged that it was Balwa who had applied for environmental clearance for the two projects, a charge that Chordia refuted. Coincidentally, Chordia's Panchshil Pvt. Ltd. has Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule, and her husband Sadanand as investors. The state government's decision to hand over a 3-acre plot of the Yerwada police station for "re-development" to Balwa was retracted following Balwa's arrest. For several years, confusion existed about the number of blasts in the 1993 Bombay Bombings, whether they were 12 or 13 in number. This was because Pawar, the then chief minister of Maharashtra, stated on television that day that there had been 13 blasts, and included a Muslim-dominated locality in the list. He later revealed that he had lied on purpose, and that there had been only 12 blasts, none of them in Muslim-dominated areas; he also confessed that he had attempted to mislead the public into believing that the blasts could be the work of the
LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
, a Sri Lankan militant organization, when in fact intelligence reports had already confirmed to him that Mumbai's Muslim underworld (known as the "D-Company," a reference to Dawood Ibrahim) were the perpetrators of the serial blasts.


Land allotment

On 27 October 2007, the Bombay High Court served notices to institutions headed by Pawar, Ajit Pawar, and Sadanand Sule (Pawar's son-in-law), along with a corresponding notice served to the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) on why special privileges were given to Pawar and his family. This was done in consideration of Public Interest Litigation No. 148 of 2006, filed by Shamsunder Potare alleging that the said 2002 land allocations in
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
were illegal. The institutions and properties mentioned include: * Two plots given allotted to Vidya Pratishthan, an educational society headed by Sharad Pawar * A plot allotted to Anant Smriti Pratishthan, headed by Ajit Pawar, the Maharashtra state minister for irrigation and Pawar's nephew * A plot allotted to Lavasa Corporation, owned by Sule. Sule handed over his share in 2006. * A plot allotted to Shivajinagar Agriculture College * A plot allotted to Sharadchandraji Scout and Guide Training Institute. These allocations were allegedly made by NCP leader and minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar who was in charge of MKVDC at the time. Pawar was served a contempt of court notice on 1 May 2008 in connection with this case for issuing statements to the press even though the matter was ''subjudice'' at the time. Also in connection with the case, the respondents were directed not to create third-party interests in the property under dispute and to undertake any developments at their own risk.


IPL exemption from tax controversy

In 2010, in the case of tax exemptions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Shiv Sena MLA
Subhash Desai Subhash Desai (born 12 July 1942) is an Indian politician and leader of Shiv Sena from Maharashtra. He is a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council. He had represented Goregaon (Vidhan Sabha constituency) in 1990, 2004 and 2009. Desai took ch ...
alleged that the state cabinet decided in January to impose the tax, before the year's IPL season started, but the decision was not implemented because of NCP chief Pawar's association with the
Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...
(BCCI). Bombay High Court in August 2010 said there was "nothing on record" to show that the Union Minister influenced the Maharashtra government's decision to exempt Indian Premier League matches from entertainment tax.


Asset declaration

In 2011, Pawar declared his assets to be worth as part of a mandatory disclosure, but his critics claimed that his wealth far exceeded the stated amount. In 2010, it was alleged that the Pawar family indirectly held a 16% stake in the City Corporation, which had bid for the Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pawar and his family denied the allegations, but the bidders board of the IPL contradicted their claims.


Nira Radia's allegations

In 2011, under investigation of the 2G spectrum case Nira Radia told the
Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governme ...
(CBI) that agriculture minister Pawar may be controlling the controversial DB Realty. According to the reports, she also told the investigative agency that Pawar may have spoken with former telecom minister
A. Raja Andimuthu Raja (born Sathyaseelan; 26 October 1963) is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu, who serves as Member of Parliament for the Nilgiris constituency and deputy general secretary for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He was a member of t ...
about the allocation of spectrum and licence to
Swan Telecom Etisalat by e& is an Emirati-based multinational telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It is the 18th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscri ...
. Radia also said that she had no documentary proof to back up her allegations. Pawar has denied any link with former DB managing director
Shahid Balwa ''Shaheed'' ( ,  ,   ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
who is now in CBI custody.


Lavasa

Pawar is alleged to have demanded compensation for allowing the planned-city Lavasa to be constructed. When Lavasa Corporation was receiving necessary clearances from the government of Maharashtra, relatives of Pawar had part-ownership of the company developing the project. Pawar's daughter and son-in-law had more than 20% ownership between 2002 and 2004, and they later sold their stakes. A nephew of his was chairman of Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) when the MKVDC signed off on lease agreements for Lavasa and allowed it to store water and build dams.


Comments on the 2010 Pune bombing

After the
2010 Pune bombing The 2010 Pune bombing, also known as 13/7 and the German bakery blast, occurred on 13 February 2010 at approximately 19:15 Indian Standard Time, when a bomb exploded at a German bakery in the Indian city of Pune, Maharashtra. The blast killed ...
of German Bakery, Pawar appeared to take the incident lightly. He said to the reporters, "It is not alright to arrive at a conclusion that the entire Pune city has been targeted. The place where the blast took place is an isolated area", adding "when I was Chief Minister, Mumbai saw 11 simultaneous blasts but everything returned to normal soon."


Slapping incident

Pawar was slapped by a youth named Harvinder Singh at the
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...
Municipal Corporation centre while leaving the premises after attending a literary function on 24 November 2011. The attacker, who previously is said to have assaulted former telecom minister Sukh Ram, was later arrested.


Turban controversy

In 2018, Pawar asked party members to felicitate him with the pagadi (
turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...
) of social reformer
Mahatma Phule Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, also known as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890) was an Indian social activist, thinker, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including era ...
, instead of the usual Puneri Pagadi worn by
peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...
s (prime ministers) of the
Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of S ...
. In response to criticism that he was trying to stir up anti-
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
sentiment and appeal to
Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...
s, Pawar said that he wasn't rejecting any section of society but honoring his idols Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, and
Shahu Maharaj Shahu (also known as Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu, Shahu IV, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, Kolhapur's Shahu) (26 June 1874 – 6 May 1922) of the Bhonsle dynasty of Marathas was a Raja (reign. 1894 – 1900) and the first Maharaja (1900–1922) o ...
.


Awards and honours

* Padma Vibhushan (2017) – In 2017, Pawar was honored with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, on the recommendation of the
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the List of chief ministers of Gujarat, Chief Minist ...
-led BJP government. The timing of the award was questioned by observers and some attributed it to political motivations of the BJP.


See also

*
First Sharad Pawar ministry Sharad Pawar broke away in 1978 from Government of Maharashtra led by Vasantdada Patil of Indian National Congress, formed the Indian National Congress (Socialist), allied with the Janata party and the Peasants' and Workers' Party of India (PWP) ...
* Political families of Maharashtra


References


Further reading

* P. K. Ravindranath (1 February 1992) ''Sharad Pawar- the making of a modern maratha'' South Asia Books. * Page 23 of the Times of India, New Delhi, India, Tuesday, 12 December 2006
Profile
at ''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
''
Profile at government of India website


External links

* Article based on personal experience wit
Sharad Pawar
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