 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Ajit Pawar" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Ajit Anantrao Pawar | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Pawar in 2024 | |
| 8thDeputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra | |
| Assumed office 5 December 2024 (2024-12-05) Serving with Eknath Shinde | |
| Governor | C. P. Radhakrishnan |
| Chief Minister | Devendra Fadnavis |
| Ministry and Departments |
|
| Preceded by |
|
| In office 2 July 2023 – 5 December 2024 Serving with Devendra Fadnavis | |
| Governor | Ramesh Bais C. P. Radhakrishnan |
| Chief Minister | Eknath Shinde |
| Ministry and Departments | |
| Preceded by | Devendra Fadnavis |
| Succeeded by |
|
| In office 30 December 2019 – 29 June 2022[1] | |
| Governor | Bhagat Singh Koshyari |
| Chief Minister | Uddhav Thackeray |
| Ministry and Departments |
|
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Devendra Fadnavis |
| In office 23 November 2019 – 26 November 2019 | |
| Governor | Bhagat Singh Koshyari |
| Chief Minister | Devendra Fadnavis |
| Ministry and Departments |
|
| Preceded by | President's rule |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| In office 25 October 2012 – 26 September 2014 | |
| Governor |
|
| Chief Minister | Prithviraj Chavan |
| Ministry and Departments | |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | President's rule |
| In office 10 November 2010 – 25 September 2012 | |
| Governor | |
| Chief Minister | Prithviraj Chavan |
| Ministry and Departments | |
| Preceded by | Chhagan Bhujbal |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| 23rdLeader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 4 July 2022 – 2 July 2023 | |
| Governor | |
| Deputy | Balasaheb Thorat |
| Chief Minister | Eknath Shinde |
| Speaker of the House | |
| Preceded by | Devendra Fadnavis |
| Succeeded by | Jitendra Awhad(acting) |
| Leader of the House in Maharashtra Legislative Council | |
| In office 24 February 2020 – 29 June 2022 | |
| Governor | Bhagat Singh Koshyari |
| Deputy | Subhash Desai |
| Chairman | Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar |
| Preceded by |
|
| Succeeded by | Devendra Fadnavis |
| In office 11 November 2010 – 25 September 2012 | |
| Governor | K. Sankaranarayanan |
| Chairman | Shivajirao Deshmukh |
| Preceded by | Chhagan Bhujbal |
| Succeeded by | R. R. Patil |
| Cabinet Minister in Government of Maharashtra | |
| In office 7 November 2009 – 10 November 2010 | |
| Governor | |
| Ministry and Departments |
|
| Chief Minister | Ashok Chavan |
| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by | |
| In office 8 December 2008 – 6 November 2009 | |
| Governor | |
| Ministry and Departments |
|
| Chief Minister | Ashok Chavan |
| In office 9 November 2004 – 1 December 2008 | |
| Governor | |
| Ministry and Departments |
|
| Chief Minister | Vilasrao Deshmukh |
| Member ofMaharashtra Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Sharad Pawar |
| Constituency | Baramati |
| Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha | |
| In office 3 May 1991 – 20 June 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Shankarrao Bajirao Patil |
| Succeeded by | Sharad Pawar |
| Constituency | Baramati, Maharashtra |
| President ofNationalist Congress Party | |
| Preceded by | Sharad Pawar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ajit Anantrao Pawar (1959-07-22)22 July 1959 (age 65) Deolali Pravara,Bombay State, India (present-dayMaharashtra) |
| Political party | Nationalist Congress Party |
| Other political affiliations | National Democratic Alliance (2023–,2019) United Progressive Alliance (2004-2019,2019-2023) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | www |
| Nickname | Ajit Dada |
Ajit Anantrao Pawar[2] (Marathi pronunciation:[əd͡ʒit̪ pəʋaːɾ]; born 22 July 1959)[3] is an Indian politician serving as theDeputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra along withEknath Shinde underDevendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024. He is the longest serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively.[4] He has served this position for 6 terms within various governments. He has worked as deputy chief minister within the cabinets ofPrithviraj Chavan,Devendra Fadnavis,Uddhav Thackeray andEknath Shinde.[5]
He served as theLeader of the Opposition in theMaharashtra Legislative Assembly from 2022 to 2023 and representedBaramati Lok Sabha constituency in 1991.[6][7] He served as deputy chief minister many times.[8]
Pawar was born inDeolali Pravara,Ahmednagar district.[9] He is son of Ashatai Pawar and Anantrao Pawar, the brother ofSharad Pawar, the president of theNationalist Congress Party and a four-time formerChief Minister of Maharashtra.[10][11] He did his schooling Deolali Pravara but dropped out of college to help his family after the death of his father.
Following the footsteps of his uncle Sharad Pawar inIndian National Congress,[12] Ajit made his first foray into politics in 1982 when he was elected to the board of acooperative sugar factory. In 1991, he was elected as the chairman of thePune District Central Cooperative Bank and remained in the post for the next 16 years.
He was also elected to theLok Sabha for the first time in 1991 from theBaramati Parliamentary constituency. He later vacated the seat for his uncle, who then became theDefence Minister in Prime MinisterP. V. Narasimha Rao's government.
Later, he was elected seven times to theMaharashtra Legislative Assembly from theBaramati Assembly constituency. He first won in the 1991 by election and retained it for five consecutive terms in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.[13][14][15] He served as the Minister of State for Agriculture and Power in CMSudhakarrao Naik's government from 1991 to 1992.[16]
He became the Minister of State for Soil Conservation, Power and Planning in 1992 when Sharad Pawar became the Chief Minister. In1999, as part of the INC-NCP coalition government, he became a Cabinet Minister responsible for the Irrigation Department. He was additionally given the Rural Development Department in 2003 as part ofSushilkumar Shinde's cabinet.[16] After the INC-NCP coalition won in the2004 Assembly elections, he retained the Water Resources Ministry in Deshmukh's and laterAshok Chavan's cabinets.[17]
On 23 November 2019, he defected from NCP and joined a government led by theBharatiya Janata Party and became the Deputy Chief Minister.[18][19] He submitted a paper with the signatures of NCP's MLAs to the Governor to prove the government's majority. However, the government collapsed less than 80 hours later and he resigned along with then-CMDevendra Fadnavis. He subsequently returned to the NCP, and on 1 December 2019, it was announced that he would take over as Deputy CM for theMaha Vikas Aghadi government after the start of the winter session of the state legislature on 16 December.[20]
In 2022, due toa split in the Shiv Sena, theMaha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed. After the rebel Shiv Sena faction and BJP formed a government withEknath Shinde as CM, Pawar became the Leader of the Opposition in theMaharashtra Legislative Assembly.[21]
Having the support of the majority of the erstwhile NCP's MLAs, he also claimed the position of president of the NCP, as well as the party's name and itselectoral symbol.[22][23] On 7 February 2024,The Election Commission Of India (ECI) awarded the party name and symbol to the faction headed by Ajit. The faction led by Sharad Pawar will be henceforth known asNationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).[24][23]
 | This article's"criticism" or "controversy" sectionmay compromise the article'sneutrality. Please help rewrite or integrate negative information to other sectionsthrough discussion on thetalk page.(June 2022) |
There are allegations that, as the minister for water resources, he helped the development ofLavasa,[25] a project touted as a "vision of Sharad Pawar". TheMaharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) leased 141.15 ha (348.8 acres) to Lavasa in August 2002, which included part of the Warasgaon dam reservoir. The lease between MKVDC and Lavasa was executed at rates far below the market rate.[26]
In September 2012, there were accusations that there had been misappropriation to the tune of Rs. 70,000 crores. These allegations were made by the Maharashtra bureaucratVijay Pandhare, and caused the anti-corruption activistAnjali Damania to demand Pawar's resignation as a minister. However, the allegations were not proved, and Ajit was reinstated as the Deputy CM of Maharashtra.[27]
On 7 April 2013, Pawar's statement at a speech inIndapur sparked controversy due to its alleged callousness. In response to a 55-day fast by activists protesting the Maharashtra government's inability to provide water during a drought, he asked whether he should "urinate into [the dam]" to make up for the lack of water in it. After a public outcry against his statement, he publicly apologised, saying that the comment was the "biggest mistake of [his] life".[28]
| Election | Year | Party | Constituency | Opponent | Result | Margin | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loksabha | 1991 | INC | Baramati | BJP | Kanta Nalawade | Won | 336,831 | ||
| Maharashtra Legislative Assembly | 1991^ | INC | Baramati | BJP | K.H.Khanderao | Won | 86,915 | ||
| 1995 | INC | Independent | Kakade Ratanrao Bhagwanrao | Won | 77,335 | ||||
| 1999 | NCP | Independent | Taware Chandrarao Krishnarao | Won | 50,366 | ||||
| 2004 | NCP | SS | Popatrao Mansingrao Tupe | Won | 66,157 | ||||
| 2009 | NCP | Independent | Taware Ranjankumar Shankarrao | Won | 102,797 | ||||
| 2014 | NCP | BJP | Prabhakar Dadaram Gawade | Won | 89,792 | ||||
| 2019 | NCP | BJP | Gopichand Padalkar | Won | 165,265 | ||||
| 2024[29][30][31] | NCP | NCP-SP | Yugendra Pawar | Won | 100,899 | ||||
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Media related toAjit Pawar at Wikimedia Commons
