sharad pawar latest news profile photos political topics Wikipedia images videos congress

Sharad Pawar:

Sharad Pawar latest news.Sharad Pawar profile.Sharad Pawar photos.Sharad Pawar political topics.Sharad Pawar Wikipedia.Sharad Pawar images.Sharad Pawar videos.Sharad Pawar on congress.

Sharad Pawar Profile:-

               Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar (born December 12, 1940) is India's current minister for agriculture, consumer affairs, food and public distribution. A veteran politician, he heads the Nationalist Congress Party, which he founded in 1999 after breaking away from the Congress. Pawar was the chairman the Board of Control for Cricket in India and is currently the president of the International Cricket Council. Though Pawar's political career and power stature has grown over the years, he has been viewed by many as incompetent as the minister for agriculture, who has been unable to curtail the spiralling food prices and has been accused of importing poor quality wheat for public distribution, which had to be subsequently withdrawn. Pawar has also been accused of being one of India's most corrupt politicians. Pawar and his family have also allegedly been involved in several land allotment issues….,

Sharad Pawar

Latest News: Sharad Pawar keeps Congress on tenterhooks:-

               The “snub” at Thursday’s cabinet meeting has not gone down well with party leaders. They feel it is high time the party gets its due from big brother Congress. “We are alliance partners, not hostages,” a senior NCP leader said on Friday.

On Thursday, it was the first time in eight years party chief Sharad Pawar skipped a cabinet meeting. The reason: he was miffed at not being given the No 2 position in the cabinet following Pranab Mukherjee’s departure.

Though later in the night, his close aide Praful Patel, who too was absent at the meeting, said they were busy at a party meeting, word started doing the rounds that Pawar had offered to quit.

Some leaders say a communication from the NCP to the prime minister regarding Pawar and Patel’s absence fuelled the resignation story. Leaders from both parties on Friday, however, denied any such development.While NCP leaders on Friday maintained the party would not desert the UPA, Congress leaders tried to control the damage, and perhaps mollify the NCP boss, by harping on the importance of the NCP as an alliance partner.

Manmohan Singh, prime minister, went on to describe the Maratha strongman as “a valued colleague whose knowledge, wisdom and experience are an asset to our government”.Janardan Dwivedi, Congress chief spokesperson, too showered accolades on Pawar.

And Congress chief Sonia Gandhi  unwilling to leave anything to chance  even had a meeting with the miffed NCP boss on Friday.

Patel, however, chose to prolong the resignation suspense. “We will again meet on Monday to review the situation,” he said at a crowded press conference. He, however, alleged that some Congress leaders were deliberately spreading misinformation about Pawar.

But it is well known that the Maratha strongman found it hard to accept Singh’s decision to have AK Antony by his side at the meeting on Thursday. Antony sat on the chair which Pranab Mukherjee, widely viewed as the No 2 in the UPA as well as the Congress, used to occupy when he was the finance minister.

“Yes, we are hurt by these developments,” another NCP leader said. “But the public spectacle could have been avoided if the Congress respected its allies.” The leader, however, added that Pawar and others in the party were mature enough to accept that the No 2 slot is not a matter of seniority. Also, the NCP did not have the numbers in the Lok Sabha that would make it automatically eligible for the slot.

But Patel said at the press conference that there were other pressing issues. “The government must be more decisive and more committed towards the people.” He, however, said that Gandhi and Singh would successfully steer the UPA out of the present crisis.

A government source said Pawar was upset with certain Congress leaders because they resented his proximity to the prime minister.

Patel even named Ambika Soni, Union information and broadcasting minister, in this context. Also, several ministers from Maharashtra have made their displeasure known to 10 Janpath.

The NCP is also unhappy with the power sharing arrangement within the UPA. Another NCP leader said the Congress had grabbed all posts, which were to be filled up through nomination, in the past eight years. “In a coalition government, it is logical that partners will have a share in these appointments.”

Also, there is the Maharashtra angle to this tangle. Pawar is unhappy with the way chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has been running the show in general and dealing with NCP ministers in particular.

Sharad Pawar political

Congress NCP spat: Sulking NCP hands in list of grievances; threatens to pull out of government:-

NEW DELHI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has asked the Congress to stop targeting its ministers in the Maharahtra government and to consult allies on key appointments, part of a long list of grievances which the Sharad Pawar-led party wants the Congress to address in order to improve the functioning of the ruling coalition at the Centre. 

The NCP, which has two representatives in the Union cabinet, Pawar, the minister for agriculture and Praful Patel, who is in charge of heavy industries, was prepared to support the Congress-led UPA government from outside if its concerns were not addressed, a senior leader from the party said on condition of anonymity. He said NCP would not leave the UPA. 

At a press conference on Friday Patel said media reports that Sharad Pawar was upset about not being formally designated as number two were "absurd". "Our issues are: functioning of the government, functioning of UPA and functioning of the larger coalition.," he said at the press conference. He did not spell out the details of the NCP's demands. Patel said NCP was an integral part of the government though he was evasive when asked if he and Pawar had resigned. "Till such time we have not given any formal resignation...the issue is not resignation...till it is not accepted...we have sent a communication." The NCP, which governs Maharashtra in coalition with the Congress has also expressed its concern over the performance of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who the senior NCP leader described as ineffective. The NCP had told the Congress that it could withdraw support to the Chavan -led government an action which would precipitate the fall of the state government, the NCP leader quoted earlier said. 

"We are in doldrums in Maharashtra and if we don't act now we will be wiped out. Chavan does absolutely nothing and there is constant needling of the NCP by the Congress. They are unhappy if we win the local body elections. The orders that come from Delhi to Chavan is to constantly keep us in check.," the NCP leader said.

The Congress had not formally reacted on Friday to the sudden outbreak of discord with the NCP, hitherto a loyal ally, except for Congress spokesman Janardhan Dwivedi saying that they did not comment on allies. The Prime Minister, who is known to share a good personal rapport with Pawar, attempted to mollify him describing him as a "valued colleague" in a tweet from the PMO. 

Congress strategists say the party has indeed considered replacing Chavan with Vilasrao Deshmukh, the minister for science and technology, but no final decision had been taken. A senior Congress leader told ET that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has received feedback from various quarters and a final decision on Chavan's fate would be hers. 

However the Congress was unlikely to take in a hurry, the senior leader said. "Congress doesn't want to be seen as a party which changes CMs often. And that too under pressure," the senior leader said. Attempts to reach Chavan on Friday evening were unsuccessful. 

On Thursday NCP leader Sharad Pawar wrote to the Prime Minister highlighting his party's disenchantment with the Congress on a number of issues. Patel and Pawar have also offered to resign, according to the NCP leader quoted earlier, creating a sudden political crisis for the UPA which was being seen as finally getting its act together after lurching from one crisis to another. In the letter Pawar had criticized the manner in which Congress, the dominant part in the UPA with 207 MPs was treating its allies. Decisions on all major issues are taken by a core committee comprising of Congress leaders, Pawar is believed to have told the PM. "There have been 40 governors appointed so far, 24 Rajya Sabha nominations. Forget about the NCP, was any other ally even consulted on the appointments? All appointments are Congress appointments", the person said. 

It makes sense for Sharad Pawar to stay on and combat drought

 Sharad Pawar well might, but bail out? Most unlikely. Mr Pawar is far too seasoned a politician not to appreciate the value of his partnership with the Congress both at the Centre and, more importantly, in Maharashtra. 

His party gets its financing from this ruling partnership. Abandoning that when elections are still two years away makes little sense. And it would be most unfair to Mr Pawar to credit him with any lack of sense. 

Making much of his not being given the No. 2 slot in the Cabinet after its previous occupant Pranab Mukherjee's departure for the Rashtrapati Bhavan is meant, in all probability, to reposition himself both within the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and also in the larger polity. 

Pawar's party, the Nationalist Congress Party, with nine members in the Lok Sabha, stands fourth in the UPApecking order, behind the Congress (207 members), Trinamool (19) and the DMK (18). By means of the latest contretemps, Pawar has pierced through the veil of relative anonymity that drapes him in the coalition and drawn attention to his heft in politics and in the UPA. 

He has also, in the process, sent out a signal that he is no congenital twin to the Congress, a status that might come in handy should the 2014 elections render both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Partyincapable of cobbling together amajority and throw up a third front of regional parties in search of a leader whose stature dwarfs the marvellous egos of regional leaders.

To give Pawar an honourable way out of his coalition sulk, the Congress could well create a coordination committee for the UPA, to address ostensible complaints about lack of consultation with allies. 

The Congress has run a coalition in Kerala for more than three decades and it does have a liaison committee. This is the time for Pawar to show his mettle by tackling drought, blazing a trail of ministerial leadership for young Rahul to follow, should he join the government.

Early Life & Family:

Pawar is one of the ten children (six sons and four daughters) born to Govindrao Pawar and Shardabai baramati). Govindrao was employed by the Baramati farmers' Cooperative ( Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh) while his mother looked after the family farm at Katewadi, ten kilometers from Baramati. Most of siblings were well educated and were either professionals or ran their own businesses. Pawar studied at BrihanMaharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC)in Pune. He was an average student, however, active in student politics. Pawar's first political act was when he organized a protest march for Goan Independence in Pravaranagar in 1956., Pawar is married to Pratibha (Shinde). They have one daughter, Supriya who is married to Sadanand Sule and now is active in politics. Pawar's nephew, Ajit Pawar is also a prominent politician in his own right and presently serving as theDeputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Pawar's younger brother, Pratap runs the influential Marathi daily, Sakal.

Sharad Pawar Career

Political Career of Pawar:

Till 1990:

Sharad Pawar entered the Maharashtra legislative assembly for the first time in 1967 from Baramati, representing the undivided Congress Party.Yashwantrao Chavan was the political mentor of Sharad Pawar.

Pawar broke away from the Congress to form a coalition government with the opposition Janata Sangh in 1978 becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the first time at a time when Indira Gandhi had become incredibly unpopular due to her imposition of Emergency in 1975. This Progressive Democratic Front government was dismissed in February 1980, following Indira Gandhi's return to power at the Centre.

In the elections that frty won the majority in state assembly and A.R. Antulay,took over as the chief minister of the state. Pawar took over the Presidency of the Congress in 1981. For the first time, he won Lok Sabha election from Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won state assembly elections of March 1985 from Baramati and preferred to continue in state politics for a while 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 returning to the Congress has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena at that time. In June 1988, Prime Minister of India and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into 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 party in the state.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 the Bharatiya 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.

Early 1990s:

During the course of 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. However the Congress Parliamentary Party elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as its leader and he was sworn in as Prime Minister on June 21, 1991. Rao decided to induct Pawar as Defence Minister. 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.

He was sworn in as chief minister for his fourth and most controversial term on March 6, 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai, the financial capital of India and the state capital of Maharashtra, was rocked with series of bomb blasts on March 12, 1993.

Mid 1990s:

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 the criminals. 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 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. Allegations were made that the mishap occurred because welfare minister Madhukarrao Pichad did not meet with the delegation of the Vanjara people in time. Though Pichad stepped down owing moral responsibility for the mishap, this incident was another setback to Sharad Pawar's government.

The elections to the Vidhan Sabha were due to be held in 1995. The Shiv Sena and BJP combine was leading the Congress in the polls, and thess in the polls, and there was widespread rebellion in the Congress party. The Shiv Sena-BJP combine won 138 seats while Congress party retained only 80 seats in the state assembly. Sharad Pawar had to step down and Shiv Sena leaderManohar Joshi took over as chief minister on March 14, 1995.

Till the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Sharad Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in State Legislative Council. In the 1996 General elections, he won from the Baramati seat and has not returned to the State Assembly since.

1997 till date:

In June 1997, he unsuccessfully challenged Sitaram Kesri for the post of Congress President. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1998, Sharad Pawar not only won from his constituency, Baramati but also led the Congress to an emphatic win in Maharashtra. His move to align with the Republican Party of India (Athvale) and Samajwadi Party for the elections in the state brought rich dividents and the Congress party and allies won 37 seats out of 48 in the state. Sharad Pawar served as Leader of Opposition in 12th Lok Sabha.

After 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to 13th Lok Sabha were due, Pawar, P.A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar demanded that the Congress Party needed to project someone born in India 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. His 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 assembly elections. Pawar, however, did not return to state politics, and Vilasrao Deshmukh of the Congress was chosen as Chief Minister, withChagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as his deputy. The alliance has endured at the national and state level to this day.

After 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he joined the United Progressive Alliance government headed by Manmohan Singh as the Minister of Agriculture.

On November 29, 2005, he was elected President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

He was appointed Union Minister of Agriculture and of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution on May 28, 2009

In Jan 2012, He announced that he will not contest the next Lok Sabha election (Upcoming in 2014) and make way for a younger leadership, a move that is bound to create a stir in his party as well as the Congress. Although at 71, his retirement plans put the focus on the claims of his nephew Ajit Pawar as also daughter Supriya Sule.Pawar gave up the chairmanship of Empowered Group of Ministers on 2G, days after his appointment by the Prime Minister, fearing that his association with the decision making process would drag him into 2G Spectrum controversy. According to the reports Sharad Pawar being unhappy over not being offered the number 2 position in the government, has resigned from the union cabinet.

Posted in: Sharad Pawar