Sharad Pawar

Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar (born 12 December 1940) is an Indian politician who has served as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha since 2020, representing the Nationalist Congress Party(Sharadchandra Pawar). Pawar served three terms as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, held cabinet positions in the Union Council of Ministers, including Minister of Defence under P. V. Narasimha Rao and Minister of Agriculture under Manmohan Singh. He founded the original NCP in 1999, but following a July 2023 split, he now leads the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction, following a split from the Indian National Congress. Political commentators describe Pawar as a key strategist in coalition politics, noting his long involvement in alliance formation in Maharashtra.

Born in Baramati, Maharashtra, Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar is a senior member of the Pawar family, which includes several prominent political figures including his daughter Supriya Sule, nephew Ajit Pawar, and grandnephew Rohit Rajendra Pawar.

Pawar served as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2005 to 2008 and of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2010 to 2012. He also headed the Mumbai Cricket Association from October 2013 to January 2017. He received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honor, in 2017. Pawar's current Rajya Sabha term is set to expire on 2 April 2026, and as of February 2026, he is considered a potential consensus candidate for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.

Personal life and family

Sharad Pawar was one of ten children born to Govindrao Pawar and Shardabai Pawar a middle-class agricultural family in Baramati. He completed his secondary education at Maharashtra Education Society's High School and later earned a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce, Pune.

Between 1937 and 1952, Govindrao Pawar was elected to the district local board three times He also managed his family's farm located in Katewadi, ten kilometres from Baramati. Sharad Pawar completed his education up to the 10th standard (SSC) under the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education at Maharashtra Education Society's High School in Baramati.

Pawar married Pratibhatai Pawar (née Shinde), daughter of test cricketer Sadashiv Shinde in 1967. Their daughter, Supriya Sule, represents the Baramati constituency in the 18th Lok Sabha.serves as the working president of the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar.

Several members of the Pawar family have held political roles within the government of Maharashtra. The family has two Members of Parliament and two Members of the state Legislative Assembly. Among them, Ajit Pawar was the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.

Pratap Pawar, Pawar's younger brother, is chairman and managing director of the Marathi daily newspaper Sakal. Pawar’s nephew, Ajit Pawar, served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra a record six times. He died in a plane crash in Baramati on 28 January 2026. Following Ajit Pawar's death, his widow and Rajya Sabha MP, Sunetra Pawar, was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 31 January 2026.Rohit Rajendra Pawar, Pawar's grand-nephew represents the Karjat Jamkhed Assembly constituency in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha.

Political career

Early career

Pawar began his political career in 1956, organizing a protest march for Goan Independence in Pravaranagar. Although his older lawyer brother belonged to the Peasants and Workers Party, Pawar preferred the Congress party and joined the Youth Congress in 1958. He later became the president of the Poona district (now Pune district) Youth Congress in 1962, and by 1964 had become one of two secretaries of the Maharashtra Youth Congress.

1967–1978

In 1967, Pawar got nominated as the candidate for the Baramati of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly over more established members by the undivided Congress Party. He won the election and represented the constituency from 1967 to 1990. In 1969, when the Congress Party split after the 1969 Indian presidential election, he opted for 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 oversaw the building of percolation tanks during a severe drought in Maharashtra. He was also heavily involved in the politics of the local cooperative sugar mills and other member-run cooperative societies.

In the early 1970s, the Chief Minister at the time, Vasantrao Naik, had been in power for almost a decade, and there was jockeying for succession among different factions of the state Congress party. Prominent leaders such as Shankarrao Chavan, another member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, and other emerging leaders were among those positioning themselves for influence and potential leadership roles. 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 in March 1972.

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 a large number of seats in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan resigned shortly afterwards and was replaced by Vasantdada Patil. Later that year, the Congress Party split again, with Pawar's mentor Yashwantrao Chavan joining one faction, Congress (U), and Indira Gandhi leading her faction, Congress (I). Pawar joined the Congress (U) faction. In the state assembly elections held early in 1978, the two Congress parties ran separately but then allied to keep power for Vasantdada Patil. This was in response to the rise and success of the Janata Party, which emerged as the minority government after the election. Pawar served as Minister of Industry and Labour under 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 own 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 from Baramati and preferred to return to state politics, resigning his Lok Sabha seat. Congress (S) won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly, and Pawar became the leader of the opposition of the Progressive Democratic Front coalition, which included the BJP, PWP, and the Janata party.

1987–1990

Pawar's return to Congress (I) in 1987 has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena during that period. At the time, Pawar stated that his decision was driven by "the need to save the Congress Culture in Maharashtra". In June 1988, Prime Minister of India and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi inducted then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister; Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as the Chief minister. Pawar had the task of checking the rise of the Shiv Sena in state politics, which was a potential challenge to the dominance of the 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 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. Pawar was sworn in as chief minister again on 4 March 1990, with the support of 12 independent members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).

Early 1990s

During his 1991 election campaign, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi 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.