Sharad Pawar – ‘Saheb’

Arguably the richest politician in India, Sharad Pawar was born on 12^th December 1940, popularly known as ‘Saheb’. An old Congressman at heart, Pawar formed his own party the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999 after differences cropped up between him and the Congress.

As a politician Pawar has always been a popular leader, He has been a standing MP from Baramati for over a decade, he finally vacated this constituency to accommodate his daughter Supriya Sule and moved to Madha to contest the elections. This unbending popularity that Pawar enjoys has helped him earn a prominent place in national politics as well as the regional politics of Maharashtra.

Pawar started his political career from Baramati, becoming an MLA from the region and working his way up the hierarchy of the Maharashtra Congress, ultimately becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He slowly made his way up the political ladder. He became the blue eyed boy of the Rajiv Gandhi government in the late 1980s, he was then that Pawar was inducted as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This was primarily done to mitigate the Shiv Sena which had just found its steps and was building a base in the state.

However, in the late nineties, after it was declared that Sonia Gandhi would be the face of the Congress, Pawar along with former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma decided to form their own party as they felt that the Congress needed to portray an image, wherein only an Indian face would suffice. They named their party, Nationalist Congress Party. However, over a period of time, the Congress and the NCP mutually decided to come together in their attempt to keep a right wing party like BJP away from power.

Ever since, Pawar has been a stalwart in the politics of the state as well as at the center. He has been the Defence Minister, Union Agricultural Minister and the Minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution along his upward spiral.

Pawar has been lauded as the ‘Man of the Farmers’ for over two decades now, his popularity in the rural areas of the state is tremendous, helping him obtain a sizeable voter base. In areas like Pune, Satara and Marathwada has become a bastion for the NCP. The credit for which has entirely been bestowed upon Pawar for his able and astute leadership.

Other than politics, Pawar has been the President of many Sporting bodies; these include The Mumbai Cricket Association, Maharshtra Wretling association, Maharashtra kabbadi Association, Maharashtra Kho Kho Association and the Maharashtra Olympics Association. Other than these he has been the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and is the current President of the International Cricket council.

Pawar has however, had to face a lot of criticisms over the last three decades, allegations ranging from corruption to money laundering and to the latest allegation of giving cricket priority over his duty as the Union Agriculture Minister.

‘Saheb’, as his party workers call him, has managed to put all that away and has today created an image where he is respected and treated as a father figure and has his sights set on becoming the next Prime Minister of India.