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EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY[EDIT]
POLITICAL CAREER[EDIT]
1967–1990[edit]
In the 1980 elections
Congress (I) won the majority in the state assembly, and
A.R. Antulay took over as chief minister. Pawar took over the Presidency of his
Indian National Congress (Socialist) (Congress(S)) party in 1983. For the first time, he won the
Lok Sabha election from the
Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won the state assembly election of March 1985 for Baramati and preferred to continue in state politics for a while, resigning from the Lok Sabha. Congress (S), won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly, and he became the
leader of the opposition.
His returning to Congress (I) in 1987 has been cited as a reason for the rise of the
Shiv Sena at that time. Pawar had stated at the time, "the need to save the Congress Culture in Maharashtra", as his reason for returning to Congress. In June 1988,
Prime Minister of India and Congress President
Rajiv Gandhidecided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister
Shankarrao Chavan into his 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 in the state.
[citation needed] In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Congress won 28 seats out of 48 in Maharashtra. In the state assembly elections of February 1990, the alliance between the
Shiv Senaand the
Bharatiya Janata Party posed a stiff challenge to Congress. Congress fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out of 288. Sharad Pawar was sworn in as chief minister again on 4 March 1990 with the support of 12 independent or unaffiliated members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).
Early 1990s[edit]
During the course of the 1991 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, in the event of a Congress victory.
[4][5][6] However the
Congress Parliamentary Party (party MPs) elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as its leader and he was sworn in as prime minister on 21 June 1991. Rao named Pawar as
Defence Minister. On 26 June 1991, Pawar took over 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
[citation needed] on 6 March 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai, the financial capital of India and the state capital of Maharashtra, was rocked with series of bomb blasts on 12 March 1993."
Mid 1990s[edit]
In 1993, 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 criminals.
[7][8] 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 the expulsion of 12 officers of the Maharashtra state forest department 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 the state assembly, and killed 114 people.
Nagpur Police were trying to disperse almost 50,000
Gowari and
Vanjari protesters using
baton charges but the police created panic and triggered a stampede amongst protesters.
[9][dead link] Allegations were made that the mishap occurred because welfare minister Madhukarrao Pichad did not meet with the delegation of the Vanjari people in time. Though Pichad, accepting moral responsibility for the mishap, stepped down, this incident was another setback to Sharad Pawar's government.
New elections to the
Vidhan Sabha were held in 1995. The
Shiv Sena-
BJP coalition was leading Congress in the polls, and there was widespread rebellion in the Congress party. Shiv Sena-BJP won 138 seats while Congress 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 14 March 1995. Until the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Sharad Pawar served as the
Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. In the 1996
General elections, Pawar won the Baramati seat in the Lok Sabha and left the state assembly.
1997 till date[edit]
In June 1997, Sharad Pawar unsuccessfully challenged
Sitaram Kesri for the post of
President of the Indian National Congress. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1998, Pawar not only won his constituency, Baramati, but also led Congress to an win a large majority of Maharashtran Lok Sabha constituencies. Congress was aligned with the
Republican Party of India (Athvale) and
Samajwadi Party for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. The Congress party won 33 Lok Sabha seats outright, and the allied Republican Party of India won 4 more, for a total of 37 out of 48 in the state. Sharad Pawar served as Leader of Opposition in the 12th Lok Sabha.
In 1999, after the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to the 13th Lok Sabha were called, Pawar,
P.A. Sangma, and
Tariq Anwar demanded that the Congress party needed to propose someone native-born 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. This new 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 state assembly elections. Pawar, however, did not return to state politics and
Vilasrao Deshmukh of Congress was chosen as Chief Minister, with
Chagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as his deputy.
After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Pawar joined the
United Progressive Alliance government headed by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh as the
Minister of Agriculture. In January 2012, Pawar announced that he would not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election in order to make way for younger leadership.
[11] Also in 2012, Pawar gave up the chairmanship of the Empowered Group of Ministers investigating the
2G spectrum scam, days after his appointment by the prime minister, fearing that his association with the decision-making process would drag him into the 2G Spectrum controversy.
[12]
SPORTS ADMINISTRATION[EDIT]
Pawar served as the president of Pune International Marathon Trust, which has hosted Pune International Marathon for last 22 years.
[citation needed]
CONTROVERSY[EDIT]
Links to criminals[edit]
In 1992–93, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister
Sudhakarrao Naik made a statement that the state leader of
Indian National Congress party and erstwhile-Chief Minister Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on
Pappu Kalani", a well known criminal-turned-politician.
[15] Shiv Sena chief,
Bal Thackeray, later concurred with these allegations.
[16] Further, Chief Minister Naik 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 the Maharashtra State Legislature at the behest of Pawar, who also put in a word for Naik with the police when the latter was arrested for his role in post-
Demolition of the Babri Masjid riots in Mumbai.
[17]
Pawar is also alleged to have close links with the underworld don
Dawood Ibrahim[18] through Ibrahim's henchman Lakhan Singh based in the
Middle East and close relationship with
Shahid Balwa, also a suspect in the
2G spectrum scam. These allegations were strengthened by the revelation about the involvement of
Vinod Goenka, Balwa's business partner, in a controversial commercial project in
Yerwada,
Pune, which was being constructed under the same survey number as Pawar's family friend, Atul Chordia, had constructed the Panchshil Tech Park. BJP leader
Eknath Khadse alleged that it was Balwa who had applied for environmental clearance for the two projects, a charge that Chordia refuted. Coincidentally, Chordia's Panchshil Pvt. Ltd. has Pawar's daughter,
Supriya Sule, and her husband Sadanand as investors.
[19] The state government's decision to hand over a 3-acre plot of the Yerwada police station for "re-development" to Balwa was retracted following Balwa's arrest.
Stamp paper scam[edit]
Controversial wheat imports[edit]
In 2007, the
BJP asked for Pawar's resignation after alleging he was involved in a multi-
crore Indian rupee (INR) scam involving wheat imports. In May 2007, a tender floated by the
Food Corporation of India (FCI) 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.
[21][22]
Criticism of agricultural produce prices[edit]
As the Minister of Agriculture, Pawar was consistently accused of colluding in the extreme hike in prices of agricultural produce:
- Wheat import in 2007 – The Bombay High Court issued notices to Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, questioning the decision to import defective red wheat, and asking for a directive to submit details of procurement of the crop from different states and the exact process of importing it.[23]
- 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.[24]
- Wheat, Sugar, Rice, and Bean prices in 2009-2010 – The opposition accused Pawar to be responsible on the issue of spiraling prices.[25]
Farmer suicides[edit]
During his tenure as Minister of Agriculture, there have been farmer suicides in excess of 15,000 per year, totalling over 200,000 since 1997.
[26] Sharad Pawar has stated on record that he believes that the rate of farmer suicide in India is a 'normal thing'. However he reaffirms that he is taking the necessary steps to reduce the numbers.
[27]
Promotion of endosulfan[edit]
Land allotment[edit]
On 27 October 2007, the Bombay High Court served notices to institutions headed by 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
Public Interest Litigation No. 148 of 2006, filed by Shamsunder Potare alleging that the said 2002 land allocations in
Pune were illegal. The institutions and properties mentioned include:
- Two 141.15-acre (57.12 ha) plots given allotted to Vidya Pratishthan, an educational society headed by Sharad Pawar
- A 2-acre (0.81 ha) plot allotted to Anant Smriti Pratishthan, headed by Ajit Pawar, the Maharashtra state minister for irrigation and Sharad Pawar's nephew
- A 32.12-acre (13.00 ha) plot allotted to Lavasa Corporation, owned by Sule. Sule handed over his share in 2006.[clarification needed][citation needed]
- A 1-acre (0.40 ha) plot allotted to Shivajinagar Agriculture College
- A 3-acre (1.2 ha) plot allotted to Sharadchandraji Scout and Guide Training Institute.
These allocations were allegedly made by NCP leader and minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar who was in charge of MKVDC at the time.
[31][dead link][32][dead link] Sharad Pawar was served a
contempt of court notice on 1 May 2008 in connection with this case for issuing statements to the press even though the matter was
subjudice at the time. 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.
[33][34]
IPL exemption from tax controversy[edit]
In 2010, in the case of tax exemptions of the
Indian Premier League (IPL), Shiv Sena MLA
Subhash Desai alleged that the state cabinet decided in January to impose the tax, before the year's IPL season started, but the decision was not implemented because of NCP chief Pawar's association with the
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
[35] Bombay High Court on August 2010 said there was "nothing on record" to show that the Union Minister influenced the Maharashtra government's decision to exempt Indian Premier League matches from entertainment tax.
[36]
Controversy faced after assets declaration[edit]
In 2011, Sharad Pawar declared his assets to be worth
120 million (equivalent to
150 million or US$2.4 million in 2014) as part of a mandatory disclosure, but his critics claimed that his wealth far exceeded the stated amount.
[37][38] In 2010, it was alleged that the Pawar family indirectly held a 16% stake in the City Corporation, which had bid
11.76 billion (equivalent to
16 billion or US$260 million in 2014) for the Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pawar and his family denied the allegations, but the bidders board of the IPL contradicted their claims.
[39][40][41]
Nira Radia's allegations[edit]
In 2011, under investigation of the
2G spectrum scam Nira Radia told the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that agriculture minister Pawar may be controlling the controversial
DB Realty. According to the reports, she also told the investigative agency that Pawar may have spoken with former telecom minister
A. Raja about the allocation of spectrum and licence to
Swan Telecom. Radia also said that she had no documentary proof to back up her allegations.
[42] Pawar has denied any link with former DB managing director
Shahid Balwa who is now in CBI custody.
Sharad Pawar is alleged to have demanded compensation for allowing the planned-city
Lavasa to be constructed. When Lavasa Corporation was receiving necessary clearances from the government of Maharashtra, relatives of Pawar had part-ownership of the company developing the project.
[43] Pawar's daughter and son-in-law had more than 20% ownership between 2002 and 2004, and they later sold their stakes.
[44] A nephew of his was chairman of Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) when the MKVDC signed off on lease agreements for Lavasa and allowed it to store water and build dams.
[43][45][46]
After the
2010 Pune bombing of German Bakery, Sharad Pawar appeared to take the incident lightly. He said to the reporters, "It is not alright to arrive at a conclusion that the entire Pune city has been targeted. The place where the blast took place is an isolated area", adding "when I was Chief Minister, Mumbai saw 11 simultaneous blasts but everything returned to normal soon."
[47]
Slapping incident[edit]
Pawar was slapped by a youth named Harvinder Singh at the
New Delhi Municipal Corporation centre while leaving the premises after attending a literary function on 24 November 2011.
[48] The attacker, who previously is said to have assaulted former telecom minister
Sukh Ram, was later arrested.
SEE ALSO[EDIT]
REFERENCES[EDIT]
- Jump up^ PAWAR SHARADCHANDRA GOVINDRAO(Nationalist Congress Party(NCP)):Constituency- Madha(MAHARASHTRA) - Affidavit Information of Candidate:. Myneta.info. Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
- Jump up^ Indian Sharad Pawar becomes new ICC president: BBC
- Jump up^ Sharad Pawar – A Short BIO by MNS. Manase.org. Retrieved on 30 July 2011.
- Jump up^ Hazarika, Sanjoy (22 May 1991). "ASSASSINATION IN INDIA; Indians Express Anger, Revulsion and Disbelief". New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
- Jump up^ "Gandhi". The Deseret News. 22 May 1991. Retrieved5 April 2009.
- Jump up^ Crossette, Barbara (24 May 1991). "Assassination in India: Replacing a Dynasty; Congress Party Is Scrambling to Deal With Its Dependence on One Family". New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
- Jump up^ "G R Khairnar". Times of India. 10 December 2002. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- Jump up^ Mhasawade, Shashank. "HC reinstates Khairnar with full benefits". Indian Express. Indian Expr5, 2011.
- Jump up^ "Dani exonerates Pawar; Govt rejects report". Indian Express. Retrieved 31 December 1998.
- Jump up^ Damle, J. S. (2001). Beyond Economic Development: A Case Study of Marathwada, Mittal Publications, pp. 140–146
- Jump up^ [1] NCP chief Sharad Pawar to make way for GenNext in 2014
- Jump up^ "Pawar quits as chairman of telecom EGoM". 3 July 2012.
- Jump up^ International Cricket Council – ICC Events, ICC Cricket Rankings, Live Cricket Scores, ODI Fantasy League, Test Predictor. Icc-cricket.yahoo.com (3 July 1951). Retrieved on 30 July 2011.
- Jump up^ "Pawar takes over as ICC president". BBC News. 1 July 2010.
- Jump up^ Gouri Shah (11 October 2004). "The F-factor: Kalani certain of clean sweep". The Economic Times. Retrieved24 May 2007.[dead link]
- Jump up^ PTI (18 November 1998). "Thackeray blames Pawar for rise in crime". The Indian Express. Retrieved 22 February2009.
- Jump up^ Prafulla Marpakwar (7 May 1997). "Pawar men rattled by Naik's outburst". The Indian Express. Retrieved22 February 2009.
- Jump up^ Pawar's Time Of Reckoning. www.outlookindia.com. 14 February 1996. Retrieved on 6 December 2011.
- Jump up^ Will Maharashtra forgive Sharad Pawar? – Blogs – DNA. Dnaindia.com. 5 April 2011. Retrieved on 6 December 2011.
- Jump up^ "Telgi names Sharad Pawar in scam". CNN-IBN Live. 7 September 2006. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
Politicians are the backbone of this business
- Jump up^ BJP seeks Pawar's resignation The Pioneer – 13 July 2007.
- Jump up^ Wheat import scandalous: BJP. The Hindu. 13 July 2007.
- Jump up^ "Wheat scam notice to Pawar". The Telegraph. 29 November 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
- Jump up^ Joshi, Sandeep (7 August 2009). "Sugar scam brewing, says Brinda Karat". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved7 November 2014.
- Jump up^ "BJP demands Sharad Pawar's resignation, CBI probe into 'scams'". Dnaindia.com (Daily News and Analysis). 24 January 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
- Jump up^ Every 12 hours, one farmer commits suicide in India. Indiatribune.com (2010-11-06). Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
- Jump up^ Farmer suicide is a normal thing: Pawar - IBNLive. Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
- Jump up^ "Tamil Nadu News: India should join consensus on Endosulfan ban: Vandana Shiva". The Hindu. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- Jump up^ "Indian Agrarian Crisis – Ban Endosulfan". Agrariancrisis.in. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- Jump up^ "Kerala: Ban endosulfan, says Vandana Shiva". The New Indian Express. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 26 November2011.
- Jump up^ Shiv Kumar (27 October 2007). "Pawar in trouble over land allotment". Tribune India. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- Jump up^ Shloka Nath (27 October 2007). "HC notices to Sharad Pawar, family". NDTV. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- Jump up^ Judge Bilal Nazki and Judge S. A. Bobde (12 March 2008)."CIVIL APPLICATION NO.101/2007 in PIL NO.148/2006". Bombay High Court. Retrieved7 November 2014.
- Jump up^ Times of India (1 May 2008). "Notice to Sharad Pawar for contempt". Times of India. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
- Jump up^ Tax exemptions for rich costs govt Rs 4.6L cr
- Jump up^ No proof to show Pawar influenced IPL exemption from tax: HC
- Jump up^ India's Most Hated Politicians: Sharad Pawar, Rediff.com, 7 December 2011.
- Jump up^ Abhay Vaidya & Partha Sarathi Biswas. Sharad Pawar fooled all with Rs12 crore assets disclosure. DNA, 14 September 2011.
- Jump up^ IPL bidder's January 31 board resolution contradicts Pawar & Sule's claims. The Times of India, 2010.
- Jump up^ Pawar & family get entangled in IPL mess, IBNLive 25 June 2010.
- Jump up^ IPL scam most serious blow to Sharad Pawar’s power, credibility, DNA, 7 June 2010.
- Jump up^ [2] Sharad Pawar controlls [sic] DB Realty: Niira Radia to CBI, Hindustan Times 14 April 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Vaidya, Abhay (26 December 2010). "Lavasa trail reinforces the Sharad Pawar connection & IPL link". Pune: DNA. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- Jump up^ Byatnal, Amruta (31 October 2010). "Symbolic of luxury, Lavasa is built on irregularities". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- Jump up^ Sharad Pawar's, Ajit Pawar's and Supriya Sule's names also prominently figure in the multi-crore Lavasa land scam. Downtoearth.org.in (15 April 2011). Retrieved on 30 July 2011.
- Jump up^ "Medha Patkar slams Pawar over alleged involvement in Lavasa project". Indian Express (Aurangabad). 22 December 2010.
- Jump up^ "Not alright to say entire Pune targeted, says Pawar".India Today, Headlines Today Bureau. 13 February 2010.
- Jump up^ BBC News – India agriculture minister Sharad Pawar slapped. Bbc.co.uk (24 November 2011). Retrieved on 6 December 2011.
FURTHER READING[EDIT]
- P. K. Ravindranath (1 February 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, India, Tuesday, 12 December 2006
- Profile at BBC News
- Profile at Govt. of India website
EXTERNAL LINKS[EDIT]
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