Sharad Pawar's journey from humble village to power corridors

Rajya Sabha MP and NCP Chief Sharad Pawar announced his resignation at a book release program on Tuesday. From Maharashtra to the centre of power in Delhi, the tinge of Sharad Pawar's politics has been feltfor the past five decades. Here is a brief picture of tryst with politics

Mumbai (Maharashtra) : The grand journey of Sharad Pawar, the renowned Rajya Sabha MP and NCP Chief, is an ode to his remarkable contribution to Indian politics, spanning over five decades. The fervour of his politics, palpable from Maharashtra to Delhi, reflects the depth and expanse of his political acumen.

The announcement of his resignation at a book release program on May 2nd, was accompanied by an uproar of statements from all NCP leaders requesting him to withdraw his resignation. Born on December 12, 1940, in the humble village of Baramati near Satara, Sharad Pawar is 82 years old, but his zeal for politics remains undiminished.

Sharad Pawar began his political journey as a student in 1956 when he took out a demonstration march to Pravaranagar in Maharashtra after Goa became independent, which was his first step towards a career in politics. In 1958, Sharad Pawar joined the youth wing of the Congress, expressing his support for the party. In 1962, just four years after joining the Congress, he was appointed the president of the youth unit in Pune district, a position he held for many years. Sharad Pawar remained rooted in the party for many years, holding many important positions in the youth wing of the Congress.

At the tender age of only 27, Sharad Pawar was declared the Congress candidate from Baramati in the Maharashtra assembly elections in 1967. He won the election and continued to win elections from Baramati for many years. As an MLA, Pawar did politics in rural areas, raising the issue of drought in Maharashtra loudly. Along with this, Pawar was very much involved in the political activities in cooperative sugar mills and other cooperative societies.

After Indira Gandhi was expelled from the Congress party following the election of the President in 1969, Sharad Pawar joined Indira Gandhi's faction of Congress, along with Yashwantrao Chavan. In 1975-77, Pawar was handling the Home Ministry in the Shankarrao Chavan government of Maharashtra. A few years later, there was another split in the Congress party, and Sharad Pawar stood in the court of Congress (U). In 1978, the Congress (I) and the Congress (U) contested the elections separately in Maharashtra. However, after the elections, both the factions together formed the government of Vasantdada Patil. In this government, Pawar held the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Labour.

At the age of 38, Sharad Pawar left the Congress (U) and formed the government with the Janata Party. This made Pawar the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 1978. However, after Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, this government became a minority. In 1983, Pawar was made the President of the Congress (I) in Maharashtra and became an MP from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. In 1985, Pawar once again contested the assembly elections from Baramati and won. He expressed his desire to remain in the politics of Maharashtra and resigned from the membership of the Lok Sabha.

The political journey of Sharad Pawar is one that spans several decades and various ministerial positions in the Indian government. In 1988, he became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the second time, after Rajiv Gandhi made Maharashtra CM Shankarrao Chavan a minister at the Centre. Two years later, he faced stiff competition from the BJP and Shiv Sena but still managed to become the CM for the third time from the Congress. In 1991, Pawar was appointed as the Defence Minister in PM Narasimha Rao's cabinet, a position he held until 1993.

Pawar's fourth stint as Maharashtra CM came in 1993, after Sudhakarrao Naik resigned due to political pressure following the Mumbai riots. However, he had to resign again when the BJP and Shiv Sena formed the government in 1995. In 1996, he was elected as the Lok Sabha MP from Baramati.

In 1999, Pawar was expelled from the Congress along with PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar for opposing Sonia Gandhi's appointment as Congress President. This led to the formation of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in June of that year. However, the NCP supported Congress in 1999 to keep the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance away from power.

Pawar's tenure as the Agriculture Minister began in 2004 when he was appointed to the position in the UPA government. He retained this position in 2009 as well. However, the NCP faced a setback in the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections when the BJP emerged as the single largest party, and Pawar lost his central ministry.

After the 2019 assembly election results, Shiv Sena broke its alliance with BJP, and Sharad Pawar formed the Mahavikas Aghadi alliance of NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray became the CM of this coalition government. However, the government fell due to the rebellion of Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde faction. In 2020, Pawar was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an MP, and his name remains significant in the politics of Maharashtra.

Sharad Pawar's political journey has been a long and eventful one, spanning several decades and various ministerial positions. Despite facing setbacks and challenges, he has managed to remain a prominent figure in Indian politics, particularly in Maharashtra.