Sharad Pawar turns 79: Political journey of NCP chief who once 'betrayed' Congress

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and former Union Minister Sharad Pawar is celebrating his 79th birth anniversary on Thursday. The supporters and well-wishers have flooded the social media to send their birthday wishes to the NCP chief.

Pawar had revealed he quit Congress in 1999 because the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi had staked her claim to the post of PM after the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government collapsed. The right claimant to the post was either Manmohan Singh or Pawar himself.

Here is the political journey of Sharad Pawar:

Pawar is believed to be a big name in Maharashtra politics. Pawar is one of 10 children born to a middle-class agricultural family in Baramati, southeast of Pune, in what is now Maharashtra state. Through his decades-long career, Pawar has served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra for four times and as Union defence minister and Minister for Agriculture.

He was earlier in the Congress Party, but in 1999 he founded his political party 'Nationalist Congress Party'. He is currently an MP from Rajya Sabha and is leading his party there. He has a close grip in national politics and regional politics in Maharashtra.

Pawar in Maharashtra Assembly:

In 1967, Sharad Pawar reached Maharashtra Assembly for the first time after being elected from Baramati assembly constituency on a Congress Party ticket.
Later in 1978, he left Congress and formed a coalition government in Maharashtra in collaboration with the Janata Party and became the Chief Minister of the state for the first time.

Pawar in Lok Sabha:

Pawar broke away from the Congress Party and helped the formation of the Indian National Congress (Socialist), or Congress (S) Party. The new party opposed to Indira Gandhi, who had stepped down as prime minister in 1977 and had formed the Congress (I) Party faction early in 1978. He also won the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections held in 1985 and resigned from the Lok Sabha seat.

In the assembly elections, the Indian National Congress (S) got 54 seats out of 288 and Pawar was elected Leader of the Opposition.

Return to Congress:

Pawar returned to Congress Party in 1987.

In 1988, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi made the then CM Shankarrao Chauhan Finance Minister and Pawar was made Maharashtra CM. In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won 28 of the total 48 seats in Maharashtra.

Pawar's name appears as PM:

After Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during the 1991 Lok Sabha election campaign, Pawar's name also started appearing as the Prime Minister.
But the Congress Parliamentary Party elected Narasimha Rao as the PM and Pawar was made the Defense Minister. Later, Pawar once became the Maharashtra CM after Sudhakarrao Naik stepped down.12 March and hundreds of people were killed.

Sports administration:

Apart from politics, Pawar is interested in sports. He has also been associated with his administration and had headed--Mumbai Cricket Association, Maharashtra Wrestling Association, Maharashtra Kabaddi Association, Vice President of International Cricket Council, President of International Cricket Council and other sports associations.

Pawar was born in 1940 in Baramati, Maharashtra. He is married to Pratibha Shinde. Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar also holds a prominent position in Maharashtra politics and has previously been the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra State. 

Also Read: PM Modi wishes NCP chief Sharad Pawar on his 79th birthday