Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (born 1959)
Ajit Anantrao Pawar [ 2] [əd͡ʒit̪ pəʋaːɾ] ; born 22 July 1959)[ 3] Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra along with Eknath Shinde since 5 December 2024. He is the longest serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively.[ 4] Prithviraj Chavan , Devendra Fadnavis , Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde .[ 5]
He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 2022 to 2023 and represented Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in 1991.[ 6] [ 7] [ 8]
Early life
Pawar was born in Deolali Pravara , Ahmednagar district .[ 9] Sharad Pawar , the president of the Nationalist Congress Party and a four-time former Chief Minister of Maharashtra .[ 10] [ 11]
Political career
Following the footsteps of his uncle Sharad Pawar in Indian National Congress ,[ 12] cooperative sugar factory . In 1991, he was elected as the chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank and remained in the post for the next 16 years.
He was also elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1991 from the Baramati Parliamentary constituency . He later vacated the seat for his uncle, who then become the Defence Minister in Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao 's government.
Later, he was elected seven times to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the Baramati 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] Sudhakarrao 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. In 1999 , 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 of Sushilkumar Shinde 's cabinet.[ 16] 2004 Assembly elections , he retained the Water Resources Ministry in Deshmukh's and later Ashok Chavan 's cabinets.[ 17]
Leader of Nationalist Congress Party
Rebellion against Sharad Pawar
On 23 November 2019, he defected from NCP and joined a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and became the Deputy Chief Minister.[ 18] [ 19] Devendra Fadnavis . He subsequently returned to the NCP, and on 1 December 2019, it was announced that he would take over as Deputy CM for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government after the start of the winter session of the state legislature on 16 December.[ 20]
In 2022, due to a split in the Shiv Sena , the Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed. After the rebel Shiv Sena faction and BJP formed a government with Eknath Shinde as CM, Pawar became the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly .[ 21]
Party name and symbol
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 its electoral symbol .[ 22] [ 23] 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 as Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) .[ 24] [ 23]
Controversies
There are allegations that, as the minister for water resources, he helped the development of Lavasa ,[ 25] Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporatio n (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 bureaucrat Vijay Pandhare , and caused the anti-corruption activist Anjali 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 in Indapur sparked controversy due to its alleged callousness. In response to a 55-day fast by activists protesting the Maharashtra governments 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]
References
^ "Not Accepted Happily: Sharad Pawar On Devendra Fadnavis's Number 2 Post" . NDTV.com .^ "Still Deputy CM, but Ajit Pawar outplayed sulking Shinde. This is how" . India Today . 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024 .^ https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/ajit-dada-pawar-the-man-who-took-the-limelight-119112300465_1.html ^ "In Ajit Pawar's Shock Switch, A Sharad Pawar Question Ahead of 2024" . NDTV .^ "Six-time deputy, never the CM: 'CM in waiting' Ajit Pawar's long tryst with politics" . MoneyControl . 5 December 2024.^ "Ajit Pawar new Opposition leader in Maharashtra assembly | India News - Times of India" . The Times of India ^ "Deputy CM for fourth time: The return of Ajit Pawar" . India Today . 30 December 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2021 .^ "अजित पवार पाचव्यांदा उपमुख्यमंत्री; राज्यात दोन उपमुख्यमंत्री कसे? जाणून घ्या उपमुख्यमंत्रीपदाचा इतिहास" . 3 July 2023.^ "Ajit Aanantrao Pawar (Nationalist Congress Party):Constituency- Baramati (Pune) - Affidavit Information of Candidate" . myneta.info . Retrieved 18 September 2021 .^ "Ajit Pawar appointed deputy CM, 8 other NCP MLAs take oath as ministers in Eknath Shinde government: Key developments" . The Times of India .^ "How Sharad Pawar outwitted his nephew Ajit" . Hindustan Times . 27 November 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2021 .^ "Ajit Pawar" . NDTV. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018 .^ "Baramati stays with Ajit Pawar" . The Indian Express Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014 .^ "Baramati Vidhan Sabha Chunav Results Live Updates: बारामती में 1,65,265 वोटों से जीते एनसीपी के अजित पवार, भाजपा प्रत्याशी को हराया" . India TV Hindi (in Hindi). 24 October 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2021 .^ "Surprise, surprise: Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as Maharashtra CM, Ajit Pawar Dy CM" . India Today . 23 November 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2022 .^ a b "Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra" . maharashtrasadan.maharashtra.gov.in . Retrieved 27 January 2022 .^ PTI (7 March 2024). "People facing draft charges can join BJP and get clean, the party is 'washing machine' : Sharad Pawar" . The New Indian Express . Retrieved 26 November 2024 . ^ Tirodkar, Amey (12 July 2023). "Tough times ahead for Sharad Pawar after BJP lures away Ajit Pawar in NCP split" . Frontline . Retrieved 12 October 2024 . ^ "Ajit Pawar: पहाटेच्या शपथविधीपूर्वी काय घडलं होतं? अजित पवारांनी घटनाक्रम ..." [Ajit Pawar: What happened during oath ceremony at the dawn? timeline...]. Times Now Marathi. Retrieved 7 July 2023 .^ Marpakwar, Prafulla (2 December 2019). "Ajit Pawar to be deputy CM after winter session begins" . The Times of India . Retrieved 3 December 2019 . ^ Vyas, Sharad (23 November 2019). "Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister after Ajit Pawar ditches uncle Sharad Pawar" . The Hindu . ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 26 November 2024 . ^ "Maharashtra NCP Ajit Pawar..." The Wire ^ a b "A. Deputy... Maharashtra" . The Hindu . 2 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023 .^ "Sharad Pawar faction gets new name day after Ajit camp declared 'real' NCP" . Express News service . New Delhi. Retrieved 7 February 2024 .^ "Lavasa's journey downhill" . Down To Earth. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013 .^ "Lavasa exposed" . Down To Earth. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013 .^ "Ajit Pawar reinstated" . Business Standard India . 6 December 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2019 .^ "Ajit Pawar apologizes again, says 'this is biggest mistake of my life' . The Times of India the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013 .^ CNBCTV18 (23 November 2024). "Maharashtra Elections 2024: 14 candidates win by over 1 lakh votes, all from Mahayuti" . Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024 . {{cite news }}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link )^ Hindustantimes (23 November 2024). "Maharashtra election results: These candidates have won by biggest margins so far" . Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024 . ^ The Hindu, Sruthi (23 November 2024). "Maharashtra Assembly election results 2024 | Who won in Pune?" . Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024 .
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