Sharad Pawar’s rise to power and politics: A timeline of NCP prez’s political journey

Sharad Pawar. File Pic

Rajya Sabha MP and the president of the Nationalist Congress Party - Sharad Pawar - has been proving his capable presence in Maharashtra's politics and beyond. With a political career spanning over five decades - from student politics to becoming Maharasthra's chief minister four times, and holding two major ministerial profiles in the union government - Pawar's political moves and strategies always grabbed the attention of the masses, that to say even if the least.

On December 12, as Pawar turns 82, here, we reassess the timeline of his political journey.

The beginning with student politics:

It was in 1956, when Sharad Pawar called for a protest march on Goan Independence in Maharashtra's Pravaranagar, marked the beginning of his first such recorded political activism at a young age.

In 1958, Pawar joined Youth Congress and demonstrated his support for the Congress Party. Four years after joining Youth Congress, Pawar went on to become the President of the Pune district Youth Congress in 1962. In later years, Pawar held key positions in Maharashtra Youth Congress and gradually began to put down his roots in the Congress party.

From an MLA to becoming the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra:

In 1967, when Pawar was 27 years old, he was nominated as a candidate for Assembly elections from Maharashtra's Baramati constituency. Pawar indeed won the election and made it to the assembly from the then-undivided Congress Party. For decades, Pawar continued to win from the Baramati constituency.

Also Read: Happy Birthday Sharad Pawar: Here are some interesting facts about the NCP president

As an MLA Pawar was involved in rural politics, addressed the issues related to drought in Maharashtra, and was also active in the political activities of cooperative sugar mills and other cooperative societies.

Right after the Indian Presidential election in 1969, the Congress Party faced a stumbling block within the party resulting expulsion of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the party. Following the split, Pawar along with Yashwantrao Chavan became a part of Indira Gandhi's Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) faction. During the 1975-77 government of Shankarrao Chavan, Sharad Pawar served as the home affairs minister.

In later years, when the Congress party again split into Congress (I) and Congress (U), Pawar sided with Congress (U). In the run-up to the state elections in 1978, both factions of Congress participated separately but formed the government in the coalition supporting Vasantdada Patil against the Janata Party. Pawar got the portfolio of Minister of Industry and Labour in the government led by Vasantdada Patil.

At the age of 38, Pawar left Congress (U) to form a government with Janata Party, and amid this, Sharad Pawar became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 1978. However, after Indira Gandhi's return to power in 1980, the Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) government was ousted from power.

In 1983, Pawar became the president of Congress (I) and in 1984, he was elected to Lok Sabha from the Baramati parliamentary constituency. In 1985, as Pawar again won from the Baramati assembly constituency, he rather decided to be into Maharashtra's state politics - becoming the leader of the opposition coalition PDF - as he resigned from the Lok Sabha seat.

From becoming Defence Minister to Agriculture Minister:

In 1988, Pawar became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the second time as the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi took the then Maharashtra chief minister Shankarrao Chavan into the Union Cabinet. This became possible as Pawar by then in 1987, had returned to Congress (I). In 1990, Pawar became chief minister of Maharashtra for the third time after facing a tough electoral challenge in the state elections from the BJP and Shiv Sena's collective battle against the Congress.

In 1991, Pawar became the Defence Minister in the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. He handled the portfolio till 1993.

In March 1993, Pawar became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the fourth time as the then chief minister Sudhakarrao Naik had to step down following the political repercussion of the Bombay riots. Pawar remained Chief Minister until the 1995 assembly elections that witnessed a sharp victory of Shiv Sena-BJP resulting in Manohar Joshi becoming the chief Minister 0f Maharashtra. Pawar served as the leader of the opposition in the state assembly until he won from Baramati parliamentary constituency in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections and made it to the Lok Sabha seat.

In 1999, Sharad Pawar, along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from congress for what has been described as the trio "opposed Sonia Gandhi's as the president" of Congress. The same year, in June, Pawar along with Sangma founded Nationalist Congress Party. However, NCP Pawar's came into coalition with the state Congress to form a government following the 1999 assembly elections to defeat Shiv Sena-BJP.

In 2004, Pawar became Minister of Agriculture in the UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Pawar retained the position after the UPA's 2009 general elections win. With the BJP-led NDA's sharp victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, UPA lost its reign, and Pawar lost his ministerial portfolio too.

Pawar's NCP also lost in the 2014 state elections in which BJP was elected as the largest party in the election. Following the 2019 state elections and after a whole lot of political crisis, NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena's coalition government - led by Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackery as the Chief Minister - was formed. And in 2020, Pawar was re-elected as an MP to the Rajya Sabha.

In the latest development, following a political crisis in Maharashtra, Pawar's NCP lost its power as rebelling faction from the Shiv Sena under Eknath Shinde and BJP formed a new government.

Pawar now remains a member of the Rajya Sabha and a notable figure in Maharashtra and India's politics.