Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar
MP
Constituency	Madha
Chief Minister of Maharashtra
In office 18 July 1978 – 17 February 1980
Preceded by	Vasantdada Patil
Succeeded by	President's Rule
In office 26 June 1988 – 25 June 1991
Preceded by	Shankarrao Chavan
Succeeded by	Sudhakarrao Naik
In office 6 March 1993 – 14 March 1995
Preceded by	Sudhakarrao Naik
Succeeded by	Manohar Joshi
Presidents Bharat Scouts and Guides
In office 2001–2004
Preceded by	Rameshwar Thakur
Succeeded by	Rameshwar Thakur
Minister of Agriculture
In office 2004–Present
Preceded by	Rajnath Singh
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
In office 2004–2011
Preceded by	Sharad Yadav
Succeeded by	K.V. Thomas
president of the International Cricket Council president of RAYAT SHIKSHAN SANSTHA
In office 2010–Present
Preceded by	David Morgan
Personal details
Born	(1940-12-12) 12 December 1940 Pune, Maharashtra
Political party	Indian National Congress (1967–1999) Nationalist Congress Party (1999–present)
Spouse	Pratibha Pawar
Children	1 daughter – Supriya Sule
Residence(s)	Baramati, Pune
Profession	Politician
As of October 29, 2010 Source: [1]

Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar (Marathi: शरदचंद्र गोविंदराव पवार; born 12 December 1940), popularly known as SAHEB (साहेब), is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress. He has previously held the posts of Minister of Defence and Chief Minister of Maharashtra and currently serves as Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.

Pawar is from the town of Baramati in the Pune district of Maharashtra. He leads the NCP delegation in the Lok Sabha, representing his constituency of Patna in Maharashtra. He has a prominent place in Indian national politics as well as regional politics of Maharashtra, although marred by frequent corruption allegations.

Pawar also served as the Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 2005 to 2008. In 2010, Sharad Pawar became the International Cricket Council president after England's David Morgan.

Early life and family history

Pawar is one of the eleven children (seven sons and four daughters) born to Govindrao Pawar and Shardabai (nee, Bhonsle). Govindrao was employed by the Baramati farmers' Cooperative ( Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh) whilst his mother looked after the family farm at Katewadi, ten kilometers from Baramati. Most of siblings were well educated and were either professionals or ran their own businesses. Pawar studied at BrihanMaharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC)in Pune. He was an average student, however, active in student politics. Pawar's first political act was when he organized a protest march for Goan Independence in Pravaranagar in 1956., Pawar is married to Pratibha (Shinde). They have one daughter, Supriya who is married to Sadanand Sule and now is active in politics. Pawar's nephew, Ajit Pawar is also a prominent politician in his own right. Pawar's younger brother, Pratap runs the influential Marathi daily, Sakal

Pawar also has allegations of corruption, especially, his nexus with Sugar cane mafia

Career

Till 1990

Sharad Pawar entered the Maharashtra legislative assembly for the first time in 1967 from Baramati, representing the undivided Congress Party. Yashwantrao Chavan was the political mentor of Sharad Pawar.

Pawar broke away from the Congress to form a coalition MODI28 government with the opposition Janata Sangh in 1978 becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the first time at a time when Indira Gandhi had become incredibly unpopular due to her imposition of Emergency in 1975. This Progressive Democratic Front government was dismissed in February 1980, following Indira Gandhi's return to power at the Centre.

In the elections that followed, the Congress party won the majority in state assembly and A.R. Antulay,took over as the chief minister of the state. Pawar took over the Presidency of the Congress in 1981. For the first time, he won Lok Sabha election from Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won state assembly elections of March 1985 from Baramati and preferred to continue in state politics for a while and resigned from the Lok Sabha. His party, the Indian Congress (Socialist) won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly and he became the leader of the opposition.

His returning to the Congress has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena at that time. In June 1988, Prime Minister of India and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into 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 party in the state. In 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Congress party 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 the Congress. Congress fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out 288. Sharad Pawar was sworn in as chief minister again on March 4, 1990 with the support of 12 independent MLAs.

Early 1990s

During the course of 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. However the Congress Parliamentary Party elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as its leader and he was sworn in as Prime Minister on June 21, 1991. Rao decided to induct Pawar as Defence Minister. On June 26, 1991, Pawar took over as that portfolio, continuing till March 1993. After Pawar's successor in Maharashtra, Sudhakarrao Naik stepped down, Rao sent Pawar back as chief minister of the state.

He was sworn in as chief minister for his fourth and most controversial term on March 6, 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai, the financial capital of India and the state capital of Maharashtra, was rocked with series of bomb blasts on March 12, 1993.

Mid 1990s

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 the 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 expulsion of 12 officers of the Forest department of Government of Maharashtra, 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 Maharashtra State Assembly and killed 114 people. Nagpur Police were trying to disperse almost 50000 Gowari protesters using baton charge but it created panic and triggered stampede amongst protesters. Allegations were made that the mishap occurred because welfare minister Madhukarrao Pichad did not meet with the delegation of the Vanjara people in time. Though Pichad stepped down owing moral responsibility for the mishap, this incident was another setback to Sharad Pawar's government.

The elections to the Vidhan Sabha were due to be held in 1995. The Shiv Sena and BJP combine was leading the Congress in the polls, and there was widespread rebellion in the Congress party. The Shiv Sena-BJP combine won 138 seats while Congress party 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 March 14, 1995.

Till the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Sharad Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in State Legislative Council. In the 1996 General elections, he won from the Baramati seat and has not returned to the State Assembly since.

1997 till date

In June 1997, he unsuccessfully challenged Sitaram Kesri for the post of Congress President. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1998, Sharad Pawar not only won from his constituency, Baramati but also led the Congress to an emphatic win in Maharashtra. His move to align with the Republican Party of India (Athvale) and Samajwadi Party for the elections in the state brought rich dividents and the Congress party and allies won 37 seats out of 48 in the state. Sharad Pawar served as Leader of Opposition in 12th Lok Sabha.

After 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to 13th Lok Sabha were due, Pawar, P.A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar demanded that the Congress Party needed to project someone born in India as the Prime Ministerial candidate and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had entered party politics and replaced Kesri as Congress President.

In June 1999, Pawar and Sangma founded the Nationalist Congress Party. His party had to align with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra as neither party could win an absolute majority on its own in the 1999 assembly elections. Pawar, however, did not return to state politics, and Vilasrao Deshmukh of the Congress was chosen as Chief Minister, with Chagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as his deputy. The alliance has endured at the national and state level to this day.

After 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he joined the United Progressive Alliance government headed by Manmohan Singh as the Minister of Agriculture.

On November 29, 2005, he was elected President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

He was appointed Union Minister of Agriculture and of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution on May 28, 2009

The criminal-politician nexus

In 2002–03, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao made a statement that the state leader of Indian National Congress party and erstwhile Chief Minister Sharad Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on Pappu Kalani", a well known criminal-turned-politician now. Shiv Sena Chief, Bal Thakare, had later concurred with these allegations. Further, Sudhakarrao 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 Maharashtra State Legislature at the behest of Sharad Pawar who also put in a word for Naik with the police when the latter was arrested for his role in post-Babri Masjid Demolition riots in Mumbai.

Allegations of corruption

Abdul Karim Telgi cited Pawar's name in relation to the 600 billion rupee stamp-paper scam, during a narcoanalysis filmed by various Indian news channels, wherein he also mentioned Chhagan Bhujbal

The BJP asked for Pawar's resignation after alleging he was involved in a multi-crore scam involving wheat imports. In May 2007 a tender floated by the Food Corporation of India 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.

On October 27, 2007, the Bombay High Court served notices to institutions headed by Sharad 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 a Public Interest Litigation No. 148 of 2006, filed by Shamsunder Potare alleging that the land said allocations in Pune, made in 2002, were illegal. The institutions and properties mentioned include:

• Two 141.15-acre (0.5712 km²) plots given allotted to Vidya Pratishthan, an educational society headed by Sharad Pawar
• A 2-acre (8,100 m²) plot allotted to Anant Smriti Pratishthan, headed by Ajit Pawar, the Maharashtra state minister for irrigation and Sharad Pawar's nephew
• A 130,000 square metre (32.12 acre) plot allotted to Lavasa Corporation, owned by Sadanand Sule, Sharad Pawar's son-in-law at the time. He handed over his stake in 2006.
• A 1-acre (4,000 m²) plot allotted to Shivajinagar Agriculture College
• A 3-acre (12,000 m²) plot allotted to Sharadchandraji Scout and Guide Training Institute

These allocations were made allegedly under NCP leader and minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar who was in charge of MKVDC at the time. Sharad Pawar was served a contempt of court notice on May 1, 2008 in connection with this case for issuing statements to the press even though the matter was subjudice at the time, that was later rejected by the court. 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.

While Pawar had declared that he is no richer than 3.6 crore rupees, the recent IPL Pune team bidding has revealed his 16% stake in City finance. IPL Pune team is supposedly worth 1200 crore rupees. Likewise, his 0.05% stake in Royal Challengers Bangalore team is alone worth 6 crores. The Pawars had consistently denied any IPL stake, but have now had to declare it publicly.

Pawar is also listed on the No Criminals website as an incriminated offender of the Religion Institution Act 1988 (Prevention of Misuse).

Ever since he has been appointed Cabinet Minister for Agriculture, Pawar has been consistently accused of being incapable of handling the extreme hike in prices of agricultural produce.

• Wheat import in 2007 – Bombay High Court issued notices to Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, questioning the decision to import defective red wheat and 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 Sharad Pawar of engineering a steep rise in the price of sugar to the advantage of hoarders and importers.
• Onion prices in 2010–11 – The opposition have accused him to be responsible on the same issue.

Slapped by youth over corruption and price rise

Main article: Sharad Pawar slapping incident

Pawar was slapped by a youth named Harvinder Singh at a the New Delhi 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. All leading political parties in India condemned the attack.

Praise for Harvinder Singh

The youth who slapped Pawar was highly praised on YouTube by common people, however politicians argued that violence should not be used as a means of raising concern. There were also several fan pages created on Facebook. There were parallels drawn with revolutionary and martyr Bhagat Singh, and pages advocating the shaming of more corrupt politicians..

Sports administration

Pawar has interests in kabbadi, kho kho, wrestling and football. He has served as the head of various sports organizations, including

• Mumbai Cricket Association
• Maharashtra Wrestling Association
• Maharashtra Kabbadi Association
• Maharashtra Kho Kho Association
• Maharastra Olympics Association
• Board of Control for Cricket in India President 2005 – 2008
• International Cricket Council Vice President
• International Cricket Council President

Pawar was president of Pune International Marathon Trust, which host Pune International Marathon for last 22 years.

See also

• Ajit Pawar, MLA, his nephew
• Supriya Sule, his daughter, MP Loksabha

Further reading

• P. K. Ravindranath (February 1, 1992) Sharad Pawar- the making of a modern maratha South Asia Books. ISBN 81-85674-46-9
• Page 23 of the Times of India, New Delhi, Tuesday, December 12, 2006.

External links

• Profile at BBC News
• Profile at Govt. of India website