Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar Biography

•Full name- Sharad Chandra  Govindrao Pawar
•Born- 12th December 1940 in Pune, Maharashtra
•Political Party- Indian National Congress (1976-1999) and  Nationalist Congress Party (1999- present )
•Spouse- Pratibhathai  Pawar
•Official Address- 6, Janpath, New Delhi - 110 001
•Permanent Address- Govind Bagh, Baramati, Distt. Pune - 413 002, Maharashtra
• Presently-  Member of Parliament from the constituency of Madha
•Presently holding the post- Minister of  Agriculture ( 2004- present)

Sharad Pawar is a prominent figure both in regional and national politics however his political career has been marred by cases of corruption.   He has been a seasoned politician with years of experience in his field of work.  However his comments and questionable stances have the reason for the controversies and the incidents in his career.

Sharad Pawar Early Life- Sharad Pawar was born to Govindrao Pawar and Shardhabhai Pawar. His father Govindrao Pawar was employed at the Baramati Farmer corporative while his mother looked after the farm at Katwadi which is ten kilometers from Baramati. Pawar studied at the Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce. He was an average student however he was active in student politics.  His siblings were also were well educated and some of them ran their own businesses.  His first political act when he organized a protest march for the Goan independence in Pravarnagar in 1956.

Sharad Pawar political career- He started his political career in 1967 when he first entered the legislative Assembly from Baramati. At the beginning of his career he was a member of the congress party and his political mentor was the Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan.  However Pawar broke away from the congress in 1978 his own party the Jansangh.  In the same year he was also was elected for his first term in office as Chief Minsiter but his tenure lasted only till the February of 1980 when Indira Gandhi returned to power at the center. The A R Antualy was made the chief Minsiter and Sharad Pawar became the party president of the Congress in the state in 1981. For the first he won a seat in the Loksabha from the constituency of Baramati in 1984.

In the 1985 State election that followed he gain won the Baramati Legislative seat 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 subsequent return to the Congress party has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena in the state. In June 1988 the Prime Minsiter decided to induct the then Chief Minsiter Shankarrao Chavan into the union cabinet and Sharad Pawar was made the Chief Minsiter of the state of Maharashtra.  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 theBharatiya 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. Following the assignation of PM Rajiv Gandhi there were many names considered for the post PM prominent among them was Sharad Pawar. However PV Narshimrao was made the Prime Minsiter. 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. The Deputy Commissioner of the Brihan Mumbai Mahanagar Palika made accusations against Pawar and stated that the Minsiter was guilty of corruption and maintained an unlawful nexus with criminals.

This allegation invariably affected his popularity in the state. 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. When the Shiv Sena BJP combine was elected to power in 1995 Sharad Pawar was made the Leader of the Opposition.

He won the general election in 1996 and since has not returned to full fledged politics.  After the 12 Loksabha was dissolve he along with Tariq Anwar and PA Sangma demanded that the Congress project another individual as the PM candidate rather than the Italian born Sonia Gandhi.  Following the disputes both Pawar and Sangma formed the National Congress Party (NCP).  After the win 2004 Loksabha election he joined the UPA in 2004 and has since been part of the Government and served as Minister.  In November of 2009 he was made the Chairman of BCCI.

Sharad Pawar Personal life- He married a woman named Pratibha and had one daughter named Supriya Sule, who is a Member of Parliament.  He takes a special interest in agriculture, horticulture economic and techniques of farming energy finance and sports.  He also loves reading and travelling and is a widely travelled person.

Sharad Pawar Quotes
•In terms of the agricultural sector- “Some progress has been made but much more needs to be done.”
•Utilisation of funds by State Cricket boards- “With such high income, the associations should pledge to improve the standard of the game and also give better facilities to players so that they remain with the sport, grow with it and can make a living out of it.”
•On dropping Sourav Gaungly- “The decision to drop him was taken by the selectors and they made the decision keeping the best interests of the team in mind.”
•On cases of adulteration of milk- “Yes, we have heard about this, but it has only happened in limited pockets and is not a serious nationwide issue. In the total milk production and cattle across the country, there are only a handful of such cases.”
•On Farmer suicide- “These are the worst hit places where the incidence of suicides is exceptionally high. While concerned states have already announced relief measures, the gravity of the problem has made the Centre chip in with financial assistance.”

Sharad Pawar Controversies- His career as a politician has been marred by several controversies that have marred both his overall image and career. Firstly he was accused of favoring criminals like Papu Kalani and also Shahid Balwa who was involved in the 2G spectrum allocation. Abdul Karim Telgi also cited the name of Sharad Pawar in relation to the 600 crore stamp paper scam. In 2007, 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. In October 2007 notices were issued to Sharad Pawar and the Krishna Valley Development Corporation following on why the family was allocated land while the corporation was asked an explanation as to why there the family was benefitted. In 2010, In case of IPL exemption from tax, Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Desai had alleged that state cabinet decided in January this year to impose the tax, before this year's IPL season started, but the decision was not implemented because of NCP chief Sharad Pawar's association with BCCI. In 2011 he faced another controversy following the declaration of his assets. It was alleged that he had a 16 percent share in the City Corporation which he allegedly bid to the IPL Pune Franchise. 

In Mira Radia revelation in the 2G case she said that Sharad Pawar may be handling DB reality.  As a minister of Agriculture he has been accused of being incapable of controlling the rise in prices. He has also been alleged for asking compensation in the Lavasa project. Another instance was his statement that said that Endosulfan is not that harmful while it is banned in India.  Apart from that his stand on farmer suicide has also been a cause of controversy since his tenure as Agriculture Minsiter of the Union Farmer suicide has increased by a 15000 per year. He made a statement that farmer is a normal incident.

Sharad Pawar Assets- The minster brushed with controversy again in the declaration of his assets.  In statement made in 2012 he stated that he had a net worth of Rs 12 crores.  However there have been many who claim that his assets are estimated at anything between Rs 1200 and 1500 crores. This is just and estimate figure of the assets owned by the Agricultural minister. His daughter estimated net worth is Rs 41.3 crore respectively.  His declaration of assets both immovable and moveable assets at RS 12 crore has come under sharp criticism and scarcism from all sides. Another fallacy of this is that there is the least possible information on public domain regarding the same.

Sharad Pawar latest News-
Congress seem to shield Pawar
The Congress have been in a desperate bid to shield the agricultural minister who along with his family has been implicated in the Lavasa scam. The NCP chief has claimed some 300 acres of land were given to the project in his home district of Pune as part of the hill station policy of Maharashtra.
Pawar has been sought to be put into the dock by a former Police officer Y P Singh who alleged the Union Minister and his family are involved in illegal land acquisitions in Lavasa.

Sharad Pawar political Career-
1978: Left the Congress Party and became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the first time.
1984: First elected as a member of the Lok Sabha.
1985: Resigned from Lok Sabha, was the winner of the elections to the State Assembly.
1987: Went back to Congress (I) Party.
1988: Became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
1990: Became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time.
1991: Served the country as the Defense Minister.
1993: Elected for the fourth time as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
1996: Won the general elections
1999: Formed the Nationalist Congress Party together with P.A. Sangma.
2005: Became the President of BCCI.
2009: Worked as the Union Minister of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
2010: Became the President of ICC.