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Sharad Pawar

Sharad Govindrao Pawar commonly known as Sharad Pawar is an Indian politician and the founder and president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which he formed in 1999. In his political career, Pawar has held key positions in state as well as national politics. He hails from the town of Baramati in Pune, Maharashtra and currently is a member of Rajya Sabha and he represents the NCP delegation in Rajya Sabha. He has served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on three different occasions (1978-1980, 1988-1991 and 1993-1995) and he was the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra and first held this post at the age of 38. He has also held the posts of Minister of Defense and Minister of Agriculture. He was the Chairman of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2005 2008 and held the prestigious post of President of International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2005-2008, succeeding England's David Morgan. He was the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association from 2001-2010, 2012 and was re-elected for the post in June 2015.Sharad Pawar was born on 12th December 1940 to Shri Govindrao Pawar and Smt. Shardabai Pawar. He has five brothers and four sisters. His father worked with Baramati Farmer's Cooperative also known as Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh and his mother used to take care of the family farm. Sharad Pawar studied in a school under the Maharashtra Education Society and later studied in Pune at the Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce affiliated to the Pune University. From his school days itself, Sharad Pawar had a keen interest in student politics and his active participation in debates driven by his dynamic speaking style and his ability to arrange outdoor activities were all early indications of his leadership qualities. His first step in politics was during the protest march of 1956 for the Goa Liberation Movement. Pawar actively participated and organized the protest march representing the student leadership at Brihan Maharashtra Commerce College (BMCC) as the General Secretary. This marked his entry into politics and soon he got associated with Youth Congress. After being associated with Youth Congress, he came in contact with Yashwantrao Chavan. Yashwantrao Chavan is considered as the architect of modern Maharashtra and he recognized Pawar's potential as leader and eventually Sharad Pawar became the leader of Youth Congress. He was also a member of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. With Yashwantrao Chavan as his political mentor, Pawar entered the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1967 representing Baramati. From 1972 to 1974 he was the Minister of State of Government of Maharashtra for Food, Home, Civil Supplies, Publicity, Rehabilitation, Sports and Youth Welfare. From 1974 to 1978 he became the Cabinet Minister of Agriculture, Home, Education, Industries, Youth Welfare and Labour under the Government of Maharashtra. In 1978, Pawar broke away from Congress and formed a coalition government with the Janata Party to became the Chief Minister for the first time. However, this alliance did not run for a long time and the Indira Gandhi Government came back to power in 1980. Pawar became the President of Indian National Congress (Socialist) in 1983 and in the year 1984, he won the Lok Sabha election for the first time from the Baramati Parliamentary Constituency. Pawar won the state assembly election of March 1985 for Baramati and decided to continue in state politics and he resigned from Lok Sabha. Pawar became the Leader of Opposition. With the reason to save the Congress culture in Maharashtra, Shard Pawar returned to Congress. In 1988, Sharad Pawar became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. In the 1990 state assembly elections, Congress fell short of an absolute majority winning 141 seats out of 288 seats. With the support of 12 independent MLAs, Sharad Pawar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. In 1991, he was again elected in the 10th Lok Sabha and from 1991 to 1993 Pawar served as the Defence Minister and in 1993, he became the member of Legislative Council of Maharashtra and was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the fourth time. From 1995 to 1996 he was made the Leader of Opposition of the Legislative Council of Maharashtra and in 1996 he was re-elected for the third term in the 11th Lok Sabha. In 1999 after the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and the 13th Lok Sabha elections were called, Sharad Pawar along with P. A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar demanded that the Congress party needed someone native born as the Prime Ministerial candidate and not Italian born Sonia Gandhi. Sharad Pawar made an exit from the Congress party and along with P.A. Sangma formed the Nationalist Congress Party. As neither party in Maharashtra were able to gain an absolute majority, NCP supported Congress in Maharashtra but Sharad Pawar did not return to state politics and made Chagan Bhujbal as the deputy Chief Minister in Maharashtra. After the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, Pawar joined the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government as the Minister of Agriculture. He was also the Vice President of the Parliamentary Forum on Water Conservation and Management. In 2009, he was elected for the seventh time as a member of the 15th Lok Sabha and from 31 May 2009 to 18 January 2011 he was the Union Cabinet Minister for Consumer Affairs, Public Distribution, Agriculture and Food. He was again made the Leader of NCP in Parliament in the Lok Sabha. In January 2012, Pawar announced that he would not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election to make way for younger leadership.Sharad Pawar is married to Pratibha Pawar and they have one daughter named Supriya. She is married to Sadanad Sule. Supriya Sule is currently an MP and represented Baramati in 15 Lok Sabha . Sharad Pawar also has a nephew Ajit Pawar who is the former deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and currently MLA from Baramati. Pawar won the Outstanding Parliamentary Award in 2003 from the then President of India Pratibha Devsingh Patil . Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, Detroit, U.S.A has bestowed him with an Honorary Doctoral Degrees in Humanities.

As Cracks Widen in Aghadi Government, Sharad Pawar to Meet NCP Ministers Today
India.com News Desk | February 17, 2020 9:31 AM IST
New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar will on Monday meet all his party min...
As Cracks Widen in Aghadi Government, Sharad Pawar to Meet NCP Ministers Today
indiacom
2020-02-16T22:31:08+00:00
2020-02-16T22:31:52+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Sharad Pawar Facing 'Perception War', Scared NIA Probe Will Reveal Truth: Devendra Fadnavis
India.com News Desk | February 16, 2020 8:17 PM IST
New Delhi: Hours after NCP supremo Sharad Pawar slammed former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader ...
Sharad Pawar Facing 'Perception War', Scared NIA Probe Will Reveal Truth: Devendra Fadnavis
indiacom
2020-02-16T09:17:23+00:00
2020-02-16T09:17:23+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
'Unfair': Pawar Criticises Uddhav Thackeray Led-Maharashtra Govt Over Transfer of Bhima-Koregaon Case to NIA
India.com News Desk | February 14, 2020 9:35 PM IST
Mumbai: In what could spell trouble for Maha Vikas Aghadi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sh...
'Unfair': Pawar Criticises Uddhav Thackeray Led-Maharashtra Govt Over Transfer of Bhima-Koregaon Case to NIA
indiacom
2020-02-14T10:35:21+00:00
2020-02-14T13:00:04+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Maharashtra Phone Tapping: Why Sharad Pawar Doesn't Take it Seriously
India.com News Desk | January 25, 2020 5:32 PM IST
New Delhi: Reacting to the phone tapping controversy in Maharashtra, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on ...
Maharashtra Phone Tapping: Why Sharad Pawar Doesn't Take it Seriously
indiacom
2020-01-25T06:32:57+00:00
2020-01-25T06:33:03+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
BJP Tapped Phones of Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Claims Maharashtra Government; Probe On
India.com News Desk | January 24, 2020 1:04 PM IST
New Delhi: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday claimed that erstwhile BJP government h...
BJP Tapped Phones of Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Claims Maharashtra Government; Probe On
indiacom
2020-01-24T02:04:17+00:00
2020-01-24T02:04:17+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Many People in Pakistan Denied Indian Visa Because of Religion: Pawar
India.com News Desk | January 23, 2020 9:29 PM IST
New Delhi: At a time when the Centre s contentious Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 is witnessing risi...
Many People in Pakistan Denied Indian Visa Because of Religion: Pawar
indiacom
2020-01-23T10:29:42+00:00
2020-01-23T10:29:42+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
'Behave Properly Otherwise Uddhav Thackeray Will Resign', Former Congress Leader to His Party, NCP
India.com News Desk | January 13, 2020 3:02 PM IST
New Delhi: The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra was left red faced after a ...
'Behave Properly Otherwise Uddhav Thackeray Will Resign', Former Congress Leader to His Party, NCP
indiacom
2020-01-13T04:02:15+00:00
2020-01-13T04:03:00+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Protests Against Citizenship Law, JNU Violence: Security Beefed up For Whole Night Near Rashtrapati Bhavan, Several Students Detained | Highlights
India.com News Desk | January 9, 2020 11:49 AM IST
Thu, 09 Jan 2020 10:43:39 pmProtests Against JNU Violence LIVE: Security Beefed up Near Rashtrapati ...
Protests Against Citizenship Law, JNU Violence: Security Beefed up For Whole Night Near Rashtrapati Bhavan, S
indiacom
2020-01-09T00:49:07+00:00
2020-01-09T13:11:44+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
‘Nobody Unhappy in Coalition, Decision on Portfolio Allocation Already Taken’ Clarifies Sharad Pawar
India.com News Desk | January 2, 2020 8:45 PM IST
New Delhi: Refuting rumours about some coalition members being disappointed over portfolio distribut...
‘Nobody Unhappy in Coalition, Decision on Portfolio Allocation Already Taken’ Clarifies Sharad Pawar
indiacom
2020-01-02T09:45:08+00:00
2020-01-02T09:46:01+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
'Happy to Associate in Plans Against Authoritarian Regime,' Sharad Pawar Supports Mamata Banerjee Against CAA, NRC
India.com News Desk | December 31, 2019 12:33 PM IST
New Delhi: Responding to a letter by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking support on t...
'Happy to Associate in Plans Against Authoritarian Regime,' Sharad Pawar Supports Mamata Banerjee Against CAA
indiacom
2019-12-31T01:33:39+00:00
2019-12-31T01:33:39+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion Today, Congress' Ashok Chavan Likely to Get PWD
India.com News Desk | December 29, 2019 8:22 PM IST
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will on Monday expand his council of ministers. ...
Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion Today, Congress' Ashok Chavan Likely to Get PWD
indiacom
2019-12-29T09:22:06+00:00
2019-12-29T13:19:53+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Learnt How to Form Government With Fewer Seats: Uddhav Theckarey Credits Sharad Pawar For Maha Vikas Aghadi
India.com News Desk | December 25, 2019 4:23 PM IST
New Delhi: Taking an apparent dig at former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, who had, time and agai...
Learnt How to Form Government With Fewer Seats: Uddhav Theckarey Credits Sharad Pawar For Maha Vikas Aghadi
indiacom
2019-12-25T05:23:54+00:00
2019-12-25T05:51:40+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Happy That People of Jharkhand Have Not Accepted the BJP: Sharad Pawar on Poll Results
India.com News Desk | December 23, 2019 6:25 PM IST
New Delhi: As the JMM and Congress appear to form the government in Jharkhand, Nationalist Congress ...
Happy That People of Jharkhand Have Not Accepted the BJP: Sharad Pawar on Poll Results
indiacom
2019-12-23T07:25:08+00:00
2019-12-23T07:37:21+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
'CAA, NRC Are Ploys to Divert People's Attention From Serious Issues,' Sharad Pawar Slams Centre
India.com News Desk | December 21, 2019 3:05 PM IST
New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Saturday came down heavily on ...
'CAA, NRC Are Ploys to Divert People's Attention From Serious Issues,' Sharad Pawar Slams Centre
indiacom
2019-12-21T04:05:44+00:00
2019-12-21T04:05:44+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Need Alternative That Stays in India, Says Sharad Pawar as Rahul Gandhi Went to South Korea Amid CAA Protests
India.com News Desk | December 19, 2019 6:25 AM IST
New Delhi: Amid nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, NCP chief Sharad Pawar sa...
Need Alternative That Stays in India, Says Sharad Pawar as Rahul Gandhi Went to South Korea Amid CAA Protests
indiacom
2019-12-18T19:25:32+00:00
2019-12-18T21:08:32+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Ajit Pawar Approached us to Form Govt; Will Reveal Many Behind-The-Scene Stories: Devendra Fadnavis
India.com News Desk | December 8, 2019 6:18 AM IST
New Delhi: In a stunning revelation, leader of Opposition and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Deve...
Ajit Pawar Approached us to Form Govt; Will Reveal Many Behind-The-Scene Stories: Devendra Fadnavis
indiacom
2019-12-07T19:18:55+00:00
2019-12-07T19:19:42+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
Maharashtra: 'Knew Ajit, Fadnavis Were in Talks, Not That He'd go so Far,' Reveals Sharad Pawar on Nephew's Move
India.com News Desk | December 4, 2019 9:00 AM IST
New Delhi: A month after the theatrics over Maharashtra government formation ended, Nationalist Cong...
Maharashtra: 'Knew Ajit, Fadnavis Were in Talks, Not That He'd go so Far,' Reveals Sharad Pawar on Nephew's M
indiacom
2019-12-03T22:00:58+00:00
2019-12-03T22:00:58+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
‘Alliance With Shiv Sena Absolutely Not Difficult as Compared to BJP,’ Says Sharad Pawar
India.com News Desk | December 3, 2019 9:11 PM IST
New Delhi: A day after saying that he had rejected the offer from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to wo...
‘Alliance With Shiv Sena Absolutely Not Difficult as Compared to BJP,’ Says Sharad Pawar
indiacom
2019-12-03T10:11:57+00:00
2019-12-03T10:11:57+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
'Ajit's Stunt With BJP Was Unpardonable, Warned Him of Consequences': Sharad Pawar on Maharashtra Coup
India.com News Desk | December 3, 2019 9:41 AM IST
New Delhi: Days after the Maharashtra conundrum came to an end with the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress allia...
'Ajit's Stunt With BJP Was Unpardonable, Warned Him of Consequences': Sharad Pawar on Maharashtra Coup
indiacom
2019-12-02T22:41:22+00:00
2019-12-02T22:41:22+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com
'Rejected PM Modi's Offer to Work Together,' Sharad Pawar's Sensational Revelations on Maharashtra Drama
India.com News Desk | December 2, 2019 9:54 PM IST
New Delhi: In a sensational development, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, credit...
'Rejected PM Modi's Offer to Work Together,' Sharad Pawar's Sensational Revelations on Maharashtra Drama
indiacom
2019-12-02T10:54:34+00:00
2019-12-02T13:02:41+00:00
Sharad Pawar
India.com