Sharad Govindrao Pawar (born 12 December 1940),[1] is an Indian politician from Maharashtra with over 50 years of public service. He holds a position of prominence in politics of India as well as the regional politics of Maharashtra. During his long career,Pawar has served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on three occasions and held the posts of Minister of Defence and Minister of Agriculture in the Government of India. He is president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress. He leads the NCP delegation in the Rajya Sabha, the upper chamber of indian parliament.
Pawar comes from the town of Baramati in the Pune district of Maharashtra. He is the patriarch of a political family that includes his daughter as well his nephew and other members of his extended family.[2]
Outside of politics, Pawar served as the Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI from 2005 to 2008 and as the president of the International Cricket Council from 2010 to 2012.[3] On 17 June 2015, he was re-elected as president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, a position he held from 2001 to 2010 and in 2012.[4] On 17 December 2016, he stepped down as the President of Mumbai Cricket Association.[5]
In 2017, the Indian government under his political opponent, prime minister Narendra Modi , conferred upon him Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour of India.
Early life and family
Sharad Pawar is one of eleven children born to Govindrao Pawar, and his wife, Shardabai Pawar. The ancestors of Govindrao had moved to Baramati from the nearby Satara district. Govindrao had a long career in Baramati Farmers' Cooperative (Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh). He also managed a students hostel in the 1940s. In 1950s he was instrumental in setting up cooperative sugar mills in the Baramati region. Shardabai Pawar was also elected to the district local board three times between 1937 and 1952,[6] and also looked after the family farm at Katewadi, ten kilometres from Baramati.
The Pawars were keen supporters of education for their children. For his higher education, young Sharad Pawar went to Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC) in Pune. He was an average student but active in student politics. Most of Sharad's brothers and sisters were well educated and successful in their respective professions.[7]
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, Sharad Pawar's younger brother, runs the Marathi daily newspaper Sakal. Pawar's nephew, Ajit Pawar, is also a politician and served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.[7] His grandnephew Rohit Rajendra Pawar has also entered politics and won Zila Parishad elections from Pune.[8]
Pawar is married to Pratibha (née Shinde). They have one daughter, Supriya Sule, who is married to Sadanand Sule. Supriya currently represents the Baramati constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Political career
Early career
Pawar's first political act was when as 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 Peasant and Worker's Party, young Pawar preferred the Congress party and joined Youth Congress in 1958. He rose to become the president of Poona district youth Congress in 1962. By 1964, he was one of the two secretaries of Maharashtra youth congress and in regular contact with bigwigs of the party.
1967–1978
Early in his career, Pawar was regarded as a protege of Yashwantrao Chavan, the most influential politician from Maharashtra at that time.[9][10] At a 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. He won the election and represented the constituency on and off for decades. In 1969 joined the Congress(R) 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 stare party. At that time, looking to the future leadership of the party, Yashwantrao Chavan persuaded Naik to bring Sharad Pawar into his cabinet as state home affairs minister.[11] Pawar continued as home affairs minister in the 1975-77 government of Shankarrao Chavan, who succeeded Naik as chief minister.
1978-1987
In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party, under Indira Gandhi, lost power to the Janata Alliance. 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 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.[12]
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.[13][14][15] This Progressive Democratic Front 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 election from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won the state assembly election of March 1985 for Baramati and preferred to continue in state politics for a while, resigning from the Lok Sabha. Congress (S), won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly, and he became the leader of the opposition of PDF coalition which included the BJP, PWP, and the Janata party.[16]
1987-1990
His returning to Congress (I) in 1987 has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena at that time.[17] 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 and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Sharad Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as chief minister. Sharad Pawar had the task of checking the rise of the Shiv Sena in state politics, which was a potential challenge to the dominance of Congress in the state.[citation needed] 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 and the Bharatiya Janata Party posed a stiff challenge to Congress. Congress fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out of 288. Sharad 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 Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. There were reports in the media that Pawar's name was being considered for the prime minister's post, along with those of P.V. Narasimha Rao and N.D. Tiwari, in the event of a Congress victory.[18][19][20][21] However the Congress Parliamentary Party (party MPs) 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. 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.[22] 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.[22]
Mid 1990s
In 1993, the Deputy Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, G. R. Khairnar made a series of accusations against Pawar for being involved in corruption and protecting criminals.[23][24] 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, during the winter session of the state assembly, and killed 114 people. Nagpur Police 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.[25] 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 Sharad 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 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 Mr Sharad Pawar announced few developments in university departments.[clarification needed][26]
New elections to the Vidhan Sabha were held in 1995. The Shiv Sena-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. Sharad 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, Sharad Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. In the 1996 General elections, Pawar won the Baramati seat in the Lok Sabha and left the state assembly.
Political career since 1997
In June 1997, Sharad 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[clarification needed] of Maharashtra Lok Sabha constituencies. Congress was aligned with the Republican Party of India (Athvale) and Samajwadi Party 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. Sharad 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, in the Congress party working committee (CWC) meeting, 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.[27] The party duly expelled the three, and as a response in June 1999, Pawar and Sangma founded the Nationalist Congress Party. This 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.[28] Pawar, however, did not return to state politics and Vilasrao Deshmukh of Congress was chosen as chief minister, with Chagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as his deputy.
Minister of agriculture in UPA government
After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Pawar joined the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 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.
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 263 USD/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.[29][30]
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 Sharad 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.[31][32]
Sugar prices in 2009 – Opposition parties, including the BJP and the CPI(M) accused Sharad Pawar of engineering a steep rise in the price of sugar to the advantage of hoarders and importers.[33]
Wheat, Sugar, Rice, and Bean prices in 2009-2010 – The opposition accused Pawar to be responsible on the issue of spiraling prices.[34]
Farmer suicides
During his tenure as Minister of Agriculture, there have been farmer suicides in excess of 10,000 per year, totalling over 200,000 since 1997.[35][citation needed] Sharad Pawar has stated on record that he believes that the rate of farmer suicide in India is a 'normal thing'. However he reaffirms that he is taking the necessary steps to reduce the numbers.[36][citation needed]
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.[37][38][39]
In January 2012, Pawar announced that he would not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election, in order to make way for younger leadership.[40] Also 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.[41]
In May 2017, Pawar ruled out being a candidate for the June 2017 Indian presidential election.[42]
Sports administration
Pawar has interests in cricket, kabbadi, kho kho, wrestling and football. He has served as the head of various sports organisations, including
Mumbai Cricket Association[43]
Maharashtra Wrestling Association
Maharashtra Kabbadi Association
Maharashtra Kho Kho Association
Maharashtra Olympics Association
Board of Control for Cricket in India President 2005–2008
International Cricket Council Vice President[44]
International Cricket Council President[45]
Pawar served as the president of Pune International Marathon Trust, which has hosted Pune International Marathon for last 22 years.[citation needed]
Educational Institutions
Pawar founded the Vidya pratishthan early in his career in 1972 for serving the educational needs of the rural poor. The organization now runs number schools at all levels and colleges specializing in subjects such as information technology and Biotechnology.in Baramati and many other locations.[46] Pawar is associated with the Hon. Sharad Pawar Public School,[47] under the Shree Gurudatta Education Society;[citation needed] the Sharad Pawar International School, Pune; and the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy, near Mumbai.
Controversies
Criminal links
In 1992–93, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik made a statement that the state leader of Indian National Congress party and erstwhile-Chief Minister Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on Pappu Kalani", a well known criminal-turned-politician.[48] Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, later concurred with these allegations.[49] Further, Chief Minister Naik also alleged that it was possible that Kalani and Hitendra Thakur, 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.[50]
Pawar is also alleged to have close links with the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim[51] through Ibrahim's henchman Lakhan Singh based in the Middle East and close relationship with Shahid Balwa, 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, 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.[52] 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.
Stamp-paper scam
Pawar was also named as a beneficiary in a stamp paper scam by a convicted Indian criminal, Abdul Karim Telgi, during a narcoanalysis test, filmed by various Indian news channels, wherein he also mentioned Chhagan Bhujbal.[53]
Land allotment
On 27 October 2007, the Bombay High Court served notices to institutions headed by Pawar, Ajit Pawar, and Sadanand Sule (Sharad 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 were illegal. The institutions and properties mentioned include:
Two 141.15-acre (57.12 ha) plots given allotted to Vidya Pratishthan, an educational society headed by Sharad Pawar
A 2-acre (0.81 ha) plot allotted to Anant Smriti Pratishthan, headed by Ajit Pawar, the Maharashtra state minister for irrigation and Sharad Pawar's nephew
A 32.12-acre (13.00 ha) plot allotted to Lavasa Corporation, owned by Sule. Sule handed over his share in 2006.[clarification needed][citation needed]
A 1-acre (0.40 ha) plot allotted to Shivajinagar Agriculture College
A 3-acre (1.2 ha) 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.[54][55] Sharad 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.[56][57]
IPL exemption from tax controversy
In 2010, in the case of tax exemptions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Desai 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 (BCCI).[58] Bombay High Court on 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.[59]
Asset declaration
In 2011, Sharad Pawar declared his assets to be worth ₹120 million (equivalent to ₹180 million or US$2.7 million in 2018) as part of a mandatory disclosure, but his critics claimed that his wealth far exceeded the stated amount.[60][61] In 2010, it was alleged that the Pawar family indirectly held a 16% stake in the City Corporation, which had bid ₹11.76 billion (equivalent to ₹20 billion or US$290 million in 2018) 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.[62][63][64]
Nira Radia's allegations
In 2011, under investigation of the 2G spectrum case Nira Radia told the Central Bureau of Investigation (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 about the allocation of spectrum and licence to Swan Telecom. Radia also said that she had no documentary proof to back up her allegations.[65] Pawar has denied any link with former DB managing director Shahid Balwa who is now in CBI custody.
Lavasa
Sharad 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.[66] Pawar's daughter and son-in-law had more than 20% ownership between 2002 and 2004, and they later sold their stakes.[67] 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.[66][68][69]
Comments on the 2010 Pune bombing
After the 2010 Pune bombing of German Bakery, Sharad 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."[70]
Slapping incident
Pawar was slapped by a youth named Harvinder Singh at the New Delhi Municipal Corporation centre while leaving the premises after attending a literary function on 24 November 2011.[71] 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) of social reformer Mahatma Phule, instead of the usual Puneri Pagadi worn by peshwas (prime ministers) of the Maratha Empire. In response to criticism that he was trying to stir up anti-Brahmin sentiment and appeal to Dalits, Pawar said that he wasn't rejecting any section of society but honoring his idols Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, and Shahu Maharaj.[72][73][74]
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-led BJP government.[75] The timing of the award was questioned by observers and some attributed it to political motivations of the BJP.
Pawar comes from the town of Baramati in the Pune district of Maharashtra. He is the patriarch of a political family that includes his daughter as well his nephew and other members of his extended family.[2]
Outside of politics, Pawar served as the Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI from 2005 to 2008 and as the president of the International Cricket Council from 2010 to 2012.[3] On 17 June 2015, he was re-elected as president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, a position he held from 2001 to 2010 and in 2012.[4] On 17 December 2016, he stepped down as the President of Mumbai Cricket Association.[5]
In 2017, the Indian government under his political opponent, prime minister Narendra Modi , conferred upon him Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour of India.
Early life and family
Sharad Pawar is one of eleven children born to Govindrao Pawar, and his wife, Shardabai Pawar. The ancestors of Govindrao had moved to Baramati from the nearby Satara district. Govindrao had a long career in Baramati Farmers' Cooperative (Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh). He also managed a students hostel in the 1940s. In 1950s he was instrumental in setting up cooperative sugar mills in the Baramati region. Shardabai Pawar was also elected to the district local board three times between 1937 and 1952,[6] and also looked after the family farm at Katewadi, ten kilometres from Baramati.
The Pawars were keen supporters of education for their children. For his higher education, young Sharad Pawar went to Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC) in Pune. He was an average student but active in student politics. Most of Sharad's brothers and sisters were well educated and successful in their respective professions.[7]
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, Sharad Pawar's younger brother, runs the Marathi daily newspaper Sakal. Pawar's nephew, Ajit Pawar, is also a politician and served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.[7] His grandnephew Rohit Rajendra Pawar has also entered politics and won Zila Parishad elections from Pune.[8]
Pawar is married to Pratibha (née Shinde). They have one daughter, Supriya Sule, who is married to Sadanand Sule. Supriya currently represents the Baramati constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Political career
Early career
Pawar's first political act was when as 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 Peasant and Worker's Party, young Pawar preferred the Congress party and joined Youth Congress in 1958. He rose to become the president of Poona district youth Congress in 1962. By 1964, he was one of the two secretaries of Maharashtra youth congress and in regular contact with bigwigs of the party.
1967–1978
Early in his career, Pawar was regarded as a protege of Yashwantrao Chavan, the most influential politician from Maharashtra at that time.[9][10] At a 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. He won the election and represented the constituency on and off for decades. In 1969 joined the Congress(R) 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 stare party. At that time, looking to the future leadership of the party, Yashwantrao Chavan persuaded Naik to bring Sharad Pawar into his cabinet as state home affairs minister.[11] Pawar continued as home affairs minister in the 1975-77 government of Shankarrao Chavan, who succeeded Naik as chief minister.
1978-1987
In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party, under Indira Gandhi, lost power to the Janata Alliance. 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 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.[12]
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.[13][14][15] This Progressive Democratic Front 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 election from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won the state assembly election of March 1985 for Baramati and preferred to continue in state politics for a while, resigning from the Lok Sabha. Congress (S), won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly, and he became the leader of the opposition of PDF coalition which included the BJP, PWP, and the Janata party.[16]
1987-1990
His returning to Congress (I) in 1987 has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena at that time.[17] 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 and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Sharad Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as chief minister. Sharad Pawar had the task of checking the rise of the Shiv Sena in state politics, which was a potential challenge to the dominance of Congress in the state.[citation needed] 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 and the Bharatiya Janata Party posed a stiff challenge to Congress. Congress fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out of 288. Sharad 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 Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. There were reports in the media that Pawar's name was being considered for the prime minister's post, along with those of P.V. Narasimha Rao and N.D. Tiwari, in the event of a Congress victory.[18][19][20][21] However the Congress Parliamentary Party (party MPs) 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. 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.[22] 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.[22]
Mid 1990s
In 1993, the Deputy Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, G. R. Khairnar made a series of accusations against Pawar for being involved in corruption and protecting criminals.[23][24] 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, during the winter session of the state assembly, and killed 114 people. Nagpur Police 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.[25] 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 Sharad 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 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 Mr Sharad Pawar announced few developments in university departments.[clarification needed][26]
New elections to the Vidhan Sabha were held in 1995. The Shiv Sena-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. Sharad 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, Sharad Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. In the 1996 General elections, Pawar won the Baramati seat in the Lok Sabha and left the state assembly.
Political career since 1997
In June 1997, Sharad 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[clarification needed] of Maharashtra Lok Sabha constituencies. Congress was aligned with the Republican Party of India (Athvale) and Samajwadi Party 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. Sharad 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, in the Congress party working committee (CWC) meeting, 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.[27] The party duly expelled the three, and as a response in June 1999, Pawar and Sangma founded the Nationalist Congress Party. This 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.[28] Pawar, however, did not return to state politics and Vilasrao Deshmukh of Congress was chosen as chief minister, with Chagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as his deputy.
Minister of agriculture in UPA government
After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Pawar joined the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 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.
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 263 USD/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.[29][30]
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 Sharad 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.[31][32]
Sugar prices in 2009 – Opposition parties, including the BJP and the CPI(M) accused Sharad Pawar of engineering a steep rise in the price of sugar to the advantage of hoarders and importers.[33]
Wheat, Sugar, Rice, and Bean prices in 2009-2010 – The opposition accused Pawar to be responsible on the issue of spiraling prices.[34]
Farmer suicides
During his tenure as Minister of Agriculture, there have been farmer suicides in excess of 10,000 per year, totalling over 200,000 since 1997.[35][citation needed] Sharad Pawar has stated on record that he believes that the rate of farmer suicide in India is a 'normal thing'. However he reaffirms that he is taking the necessary steps to reduce the numbers.[36][citation needed]
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.[37][38][39]
In January 2012, Pawar announced that he would not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election, in order to make way for younger leadership.[40] Also 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.[41]
In May 2017, Pawar ruled out being a candidate for the June 2017 Indian presidential election.[42]
Sports administration
Pawar has interests in cricket, kabbadi, kho kho, wrestling and football. He has served as the head of various sports organisations, including
Mumbai Cricket Association[43]
Maharashtra Wrestling Association
Maharashtra Kabbadi Association
Maharashtra Kho Kho Association
Maharashtra Olympics Association
Board of Control for Cricket in India President 2005–2008
International Cricket Council Vice President[44]
International Cricket Council President[45]
Pawar served as the president of Pune International Marathon Trust, which has hosted Pune International Marathon for last 22 years.[citation needed]
Educational Institutions
Pawar founded the Vidya pratishthan early in his career in 1972 for serving the educational needs of the rural poor. The organization now runs number schools at all levels and colleges specializing in subjects such as information technology and Biotechnology.in Baramati and many other locations.[46] Pawar is associated with the Hon. Sharad Pawar Public School,[47] under the Shree Gurudatta Education Society;[citation needed] the Sharad Pawar International School, Pune; and the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy, near Mumbai.
Controversies
Criminal links
In 1992–93, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik made a statement that the state leader of Indian National Congress party and erstwhile-Chief Minister Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on Pappu Kalani", a well known criminal-turned-politician.[48] Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, later concurred with these allegations.[49] Further, Chief Minister Naik also alleged that it was possible that Kalani and Hitendra Thakur, 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.[50]
Pawar is also alleged to have close links with the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim[51] through Ibrahim's henchman Lakhan Singh based in the Middle East and close relationship with Shahid Balwa, 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, 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.[52] 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.
Stamp-paper scam
Pawar was also named as a beneficiary in a stamp paper scam by a convicted Indian criminal, Abdul Karim Telgi, during a narcoanalysis test, filmed by various Indian news channels, wherein he also mentioned Chhagan Bhujbal.[53]
Land allotment
On 27 October 2007, the Bombay High Court served notices to institutions headed by Pawar, Ajit Pawar, and Sadanand Sule (Sharad 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 were illegal. The institutions and properties mentioned include:
Two 141.15-acre (57.12 ha) plots given allotted to Vidya Pratishthan, an educational society headed by Sharad Pawar
A 2-acre (0.81 ha) plot allotted to Anant Smriti Pratishthan, headed by Ajit Pawar, the Maharashtra state minister for irrigation and Sharad Pawar's nephew
A 32.12-acre (13.00 ha) plot allotted to Lavasa Corporation, owned by Sule. Sule handed over his share in 2006.[clarification needed][citation needed]
A 1-acre (0.40 ha) plot allotted to Shivajinagar Agriculture College
A 3-acre (1.2 ha) 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.[54][55] Sharad 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.[56][57]
IPL exemption from tax controversy
In 2010, in the case of tax exemptions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Desai 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 (BCCI).[58] Bombay High Court on 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.[59]
Asset declaration
In 2011, Sharad Pawar declared his assets to be worth ₹120 million (equivalent to ₹180 million or US$2.7 million in 2018) as part of a mandatory disclosure, but his critics claimed that his wealth far exceeded the stated amount.[60][61] In 2010, it was alleged that the Pawar family indirectly held a 16% stake in the City Corporation, which had bid ₹11.76 billion (equivalent to ₹20 billion or US$290 million in 2018) 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.[62][63][64]
Nira Radia's allegations
In 2011, under investigation of the 2G spectrum case Nira Radia told the Central Bureau of Investigation (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 about the allocation of spectrum and licence to Swan Telecom. Radia also said that she had no documentary proof to back up her allegations.[65] Pawar has denied any link with former DB managing director Shahid Balwa who is now in CBI custody.
Lavasa
Sharad 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.[66] Pawar's daughter and son-in-law had more than 20% ownership between 2002 and 2004, and they later sold their stakes.[67] 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.[66][68][69]
Comments on the 2010 Pune bombing
After the 2010 Pune bombing of German Bakery, Sharad 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."[70]
Slapping incident
Pawar was slapped by a youth named Harvinder Singh at the New Delhi Municipal Corporation centre while leaving the premises after attending a literary function on 24 November 2011.[71] 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) of social reformer Mahatma Phule, instead of the usual Puneri Pagadi worn by peshwas (prime ministers) of the Maratha Empire. In response to criticism that he was trying to stir up anti-Brahmin sentiment and appeal to Dalits, Pawar said that he wasn't rejecting any section of society but honoring his idols Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, and Shahu Maharaj.[72][73][74]
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-led BJP government.[75] The timing of the award was questioned by observers and some attributed it to political motivations of the BJP.
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