Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar is one of eleven children born to Govindrao Pawar and Shardabai Pawar.{{Cite news |last=डेस्क |first=स्पेशल |date=12 December 2023 |title=पढाई में अच्छे नहीं थे शरद पवार, रिपोर्ट कार्ड पर पिता के साइन करवाने में खाते थे खौफ; निकाला था ये उपाय |url=https://www.jansatta.com/jansatta-special/sharad-pawar-83rd-birthday-age-biography-education-wife-ncp/3112127/ |access-date=5 Feb 2024 |work=Jansatta |language=Hindi}} Govindrao ancestors relocated to Baramati from the nearby Satara region. Govindrao had a long career with the Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh, a Baramati Farmers' Cooperative. He also managed Shahu Boarding, a student hostel, during the 1940s.{{cite book|first1=Donald W.|last1=Attwood|author2=D W Attwood|title=Raising Cane: The Political Economy Of Sugar In Western India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SFyvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT325|date=16 September 2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-00-030891-4|pages=325–}} In the 1950s, he was involved in the establishment of cooperative sugar mills in the area.

Govindrao Pawar was elected to the district local board three times between 1937 and 1952.{{cite book |last1=Phadnis |last2=Chatterji |last3=Gadgil |title=Business Standard Political Profiles of Cabals and Kings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qT7QvviGoJsC&pg=PA23 |year=2009 |publisher=Business Standard Books |isbn=978-81-905735-4-2 |pages=72, 75}} He also managed the family farm located in Katewadi, ten kilometres from Baramati.{{Cite journal |last=More |first=Pravin |date=December 2017 |title=Contribution of Sharadchandra Pawar in Developing Modern India |url=https://spjcpabal.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/5.-More-2017_18.pdf |journal=International Journal of Multifaceted and Multilingual Studies |pages=49 |issn=2394-207X |access-date=28 January 2025}} Sharad Pawar completed his education up to the 10th standard (SSC) under the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education at Maharashtra Education Society's High School in Baramati.{{Cite web |last=Pawar |first=Sharad |date=2014 |title=Sharad Pawar Affidavit |url=https://ceoelection.maharashtra.gov.in/AffidavitPDFs/RS/RS2014/pawar.pdf }}

Pawar is married to Pratibha (née Shinde), daughter of the test cricketer Sadashiv Shinde. They have a daughter, Supriya Sule, who represents the Baramati constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha.

He is the senior member of the Pawar political family of Maharashtra. The family has two Members of Parliament and two Members of the Legislative Assembly in the state assembly. Among them, Ajit Pawar was the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.{{cite web |title=Nepotism is active in Maharashtra too |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-nepotism-is-active-in-maharashtra-too-1240419 |access-date=8 May 2022 |website=dnaindia.com}}{{cite web |date=29 September 2019 |title=पवार कुटुंबात सध्या कोण, काय करतंय? {{!}} Sakal |url=https://www.esakal.com/maharashtra/ncp-leader-sharad-pawar-family-information-marathi-219384 |access-date=16 January 2022 |website=www.esakal.com}}{{cite web |date=30 September 2019 |title=ठाकरे आणि पवार यांच्यासह 'या' 11 कुटूंबियांच्या हातात महाराष्ट्राचं 'राजकारण', जाणून घ्या |url=https://policenama.com/maharashtra-assembly-election-dynasty-politics-political-family-thackeray-pawar-rane-shinde-chavan-congress-bjp-ncp/ |website=policenama.com}}

Pratap Pawar, Pawar's younger brother, runs the Marathi daily newspaper Sakal. One of Pawar's nephews, Ajit Pawar, is a politician and currently serves as one of the two Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra.{{cite book|author1=Shiri Ram Bakshi|author2=Sita Ram Sharma|author3=S. Gajrani|title=Contemporary Political Leadership in India:Sharad Pawar :The Maratha legacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iP433CnEW_gC|year=1998|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7648-007-9|pages=123–130}} His grandnephew Rohit Rajendra Pawar represents the Karjat constituency in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha.{{cite web|url=https://theprint.in/politics/after-parth-its-rohit-one-more-son-set-to-rise-in-pawar-dynasty/235214/|title=Rohit Pawar|last=Pawar|first=Rohit|website=Theprint.in|date=15 May 2019}}

Pawar's first political activity was the organization of a protest march for Goan Independence in Pravaranagar in 1956. Although his older lawyer brother belonged to Peasants and Workers Party, the young Pawar preferred the Congress party and joined Youth Congress in 1958. He later became the president of Poona district (now Pune district) Youth Congress in 1962, and by 1964 had become one of two secretaries of the Maharashtra Youth Congress.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-02 |title=Sharad Pawar, the Congress leader who challenged leadership of Sonia Gandhi |url=https://mathrubhumi.com/news/india/sharad-pawar-the-congress-leader-who-challenged-leadership-of-sonia-gandhi-1.8523274 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503174849/https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/sharad-pawar-the-congress-leader-who-challenged-leadership-of-sonia-gandhi-1.8523274 |archive-date=2023-05-03 |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Mathrubhumi |language=en}}

Early in his career, Pawar was regarded as a protégé of Yashwantrao Chavan, a politician from Maharashtra at that time.[http://www.manase.org/en/maharashtra.php?mid=68&smid=23&pmid=3&id=885 Sharad Pawar – A Short BIO by MNS] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727060815/http://www.manase.org/en/maharashtra.php?mid=68&smid=23&pmid=3&id=885 |date=27 July 2011 }}. Manase.org. Retrieved on 30 July 2011.{{cite book|first=Madhav|last=Godbole|title=Unfinished Innings: Recollections and Reflections of a Civil Servant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ItQF4g08KbwC&pg=PR9|year=1996|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-0883-5|page=35}} At the young age of 27 in 1967, Pawar was nominated as the candidate for the Baramati of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly over more established members by the undivided Congress Party.{{Cite web |last=टीम |first=एबीपी माझा वेब |date=2023-02-22 |title=राजकारणातील अजेयी! 56 वर्षांपूर्वी शरद पवारांनी मिळवला होता निवडणुकीत पहिला विजय |url=https://marathi.abplive.com/news/maharashtra/maharashtra-politics-sharad-pawar-first-election-victory-from-baramati-assembly-seat-in-1967-know-the-history-1154079 |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=marathi.abplive.com |language=mr}} He won the election and represented the constituency from 1967 to 1990. In 1969, when the Congress Party split after the 1969 Indian presidential election, he opted for the Congress(R) faction of prime minister Indira Gandhi, along with his mentor Yashwantrao Chavan.

As the MLA of Baramati in the early 1970s, he was instrumental in building percolation tanks during a severe drought in Maharashtra. Like most Congress party politicians from rural western Maharashtra, he was also heavily involved in the politics of the local cooperative sugar mills and other member-run cooperatives societies.

In the early 1970s, the Chief Minister at the time Vasantrao Naik had been in power for almost a decade, and there was jockeying for succession among different factions of the state Congress party. Prominent leaders such as Shankarrao Chavan, who was a key figure in Maharashtra politics, and other emerging leaders were among those positioning themselves for influence and potential leadership roles. At that time, looking to the future leadership of the party, Yashwantrao Chavan persuaded Naik to bring Pawar into his cabinet as state home affairs minister in March 1972.{{cite book|first=Jayant|last=Lele|title=Elite Pluralism and Class Rule: Political development in Maharashtra, India|url=https://archive.org/details/elitepluralismcl0000lele|url-access=registration|date=15 December 1981|publisher=University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division|isbn=978-1-4875-8657-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/elitepluralismcl0000lele/page/176 176], 235}}

{{Main|Sharad Pawar ministry (1978-1980)}}

In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, The Congress Party, under Indira Gandhi, lost power to the Janata Alliance. Taking responsibility for the loss of a large number of seats in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan resigned shortly afterward and was replaced by Vasantdada Patil. Later in the year, the Congress Party split again, with Pawar's mentor Yashwantrao Chavan joining one faction, Congress (U), and Indira Gandhi leading her own faction, Congress (I). Pawar himself joined the Congress (U) faction. In the state assembly elections held early in 1978, the two Congress parties ran separately, but then formed an alliance to keep power for Vasantdada Patil. This was in response to the rise and success of the Janata Party, which emerged as the minority government after the election. Pawar served as Minister of Industry and Labour under the Patil government.{{citation|jstor=4369264|title=Workers' Safety of No Account|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=15|issue=48|pages=2008–2010|last1=Subrahmanyam|first1=K. V.|year=1980}}

In July 1978, Pawar broke away from the Congress (U) party to form a coalition government with the Janata Party. In the process, at the age of 38, he became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra.Palshikar, S., Birmal, N. and Ghotale, V., Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of Politics and Public Administration, University of Pune, 2010, CAS Occasional Paper Series: No. 4. page 8 [http://www.unipune.ac.in/dept/mental_moral_and_social_science/politics_and_public_administration/ppa_webfiles/pdf/OccasionalPaper-CAS/Coalition%20_CAS_%20Prof%20Palshikarnewx.pdf]{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/devendra-fadnavis-maharashtra-chief-minister-first-bjp-leader-224867-2014-10-28|title=Devendra Fadnavis set to be Maharashtra's 19th CM|date=29 October 2014 |magazine=India Today|language=en|access-date=8 June 2019}}{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/specials/assembly-elections-2014/maharashtra-news/Second-youngest-CMs-daughter-will-be-youngest-resident-of-Varsha/articleshow/44964945.cms|title=Second youngest CM's daughter will be youngest resident of Varsha |website=The Times of India|date=29 October 2014 |access-date=8 June 2019}} This Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) government was dismissed in February 1980, following Indira Gandhi's return to power.

In the 1980 elections, Congress (I) won the majority in the state assembly, and A.R. Antulay took over as chief minister. Pawar took over the Presidency of his own Congress (S) party in 1983. For the first time, he won the Lok Sabha election from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won the state assembly election of March 1985 from Baramati and preferred to return to state politics, resigning his Lok Sabha seat. Congress (S) won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly, and Pawar became the leader of the opposition of the Progressive Democratic Front coalition, which included the BJP, PWP, and the Janata party.Palshikar, S., Birmal, N. and Ghotale, V., Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of Politics and Public Administration, University of Pune, 2010 CAS Occasional Paper Series: No. 4. page 10 [http://www.unipune.ac.in/dept/mental_moral_and_social_science/politics_and_public_administration/ppa_webfiles/pdf/OccasionalPaper-CAS/Coalition%20_CAS_%20Prof%20Palshikarnewx.pdf]

His return to Congress (I) in 1987 has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena at that time. Pawar had stated at the time, "the need to save the Congress Culture in Maharashtra" as his reason for returning to Congress. In June 1988, Prime Minister of India and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister; Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as the chief minister. 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 in the state.{{Cite book|last=Bagaria|first=Amit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xJeHDwAAQBAJ&q=pawar&pg=PT156|title=Mr President: Yes, Prime Minister|date=12 February 2019|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-64429-325-6|language=en}} In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Congress 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 Congress. Congress fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out of 288. Pawar was sworn in as chief minister again on 4 March 1990, with the support of 12 independent or unaffiliated members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

During the course of the 1991 election campaign, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. The party elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as the party president. It was expected that the party president would become the prime minister in the event of a Congress victory.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/22/world/assassination-in-india-indians-express-anger-revulsion-and-disbelief.html|title=ASSASSINATION IN INDIA; Indians Express Anger, Revulsion and Disbelief|work=The New York Times|access-date=5 April 2009|date=22 May 1991 | first=Sanjoy | last=Hazarika}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/24/world/assassination-india-replacing-dynasty-congress-party-scrambling-deal-with-its.html|title=Assassination in India: Replacing a Dynasty; Congress Party Is Scrambling to Deal With Its Dependence on One Family|work=The New York Times|access-date=5 April 2009|date=24 May 1991 | first=Barbara | last=Crossette}} However, Pawar at that time had talked about the distinction between party president and prime minister.{{Cn|date=January 2025}} Since the Congress contingent from Maharashtra was the largest, Pawar felt he had a legitimate claim for the post of prime minister. However, Pawar eventually decided not to enter the contest. The Congress Parliamentary Party (party MPs) unanimously elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as their leader, and he was sworn in as prime minister on 21 June 1991.{{cite book|first=Vinay|last=Sitapati|title=The Man who Remade India: A Biography of P.V. Narasimha Rao|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUxUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-069285-8|page=98}} Rao named Pawar as defence minister. On 26 June 1991, Pawar took over that portfolio and held it until March 1993. After Pawar's successor in Maharashtra, Sudhakarrao Naik, stepped down following the Bombay riots, Rao asked Pawar to serve again as chief minister of the state. Pawar was sworn in as chief minister for his fourth term on 6 March 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai experienced a series of bomb blasts, on 12 March 1993. Pawar's response to the blasts attracted controversy. More than a decade later, Pawar admitted that he had "deliberately misled" people following the bombings, by saying that there were "13 and not 12" explosions, and had added the name of a Muslim-dominated locality to show that people from both communities had been affected.{{cite news|title=To keep the peace, I misled people on '93 blasts: Pawar|work=The Indian Express|location=India|date=12 August 2006|url=http://www.indiaexplained.com/fullstory.php?content_id=10419|access-date=16 March 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716192416/http://www.indiaexplained.com/fullstory.php?content_id=10419|archive-date=16 July 2010}} He attempted to justify this deception by claiming that it was a move to prevent communal riots, by falsely portraying that both Hindu and Muslim communities in the city had been affected adversely. He also admitted to lying about evidence recovered and misleading people into believing that it pointed to the Tamil Tigers as possible suspects.

In 1993, 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 criminals.{{cite news|title=G R Khairnar|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/G-R-Khairnar/articleshow/30881132.cms|work=The Times of India|access-date=5 February 2011|date=10 December 2002}}{{cite web|last=Mhasawade|first=Shashank|title=HC reinstates Khairnar with full benefits|url=http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19970705/18650923.html|publisher=Indian Expr5, 2011|work=Indian Express|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219125848/http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19970705/18650923.html|archive-date=19 February 2014}} 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 the expulsion of 12 officers of the Maharashtra state forest department who had been accused of corruption. The opposition parties accused Pawar's government of trying to shield the corrupt officers.{{Cite news |date=5 April 2011 |title=Indian activist Anna Hazare begins anti-graft fast |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12968151 |work=BBC News}}

The 1994 Gowari stampede occurred at Nagpur, during the winter session of the state assembly, and killed 114 people. Nagpur Police were trying to disperse almost 50,000 Gowari and Vanjari protesters using baton charges but the police created panic and triggered a stampede amongst protesters.{{cite news |title=Dani exonerates Pawar; Govt rejects report |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19981231/36550294.html |date=31 December 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511073706/http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19981231/36550294.html |archive-date=11 May 2008 |newspaper=The Indian Express |agency=Express News Service |access-date=12 October 2015}} Allegations were made that the mishap occurred because welfare minister Madhukarrao Pichad did not meet with the delegation of the Vanjari people in time. Though Pichad, accepting responsibility for the mishap, stepped down, this incident was another setback to Pawar's government.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

After 16 years of protest by the Namantar Andolan (Name-change Movement), the state government finally renamed Marathwada University as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University on 14 January 1994, the compromise new name being an expansion of the old name (Namvistar) rather than a complete change of name (Namanatar). As chief minister, Pawar announced few developments in university departments.Damle, J. S. (2001). Beyond Economic Development: A Case Study of Marathwada, Mittal Publications, pp. 140–146{{Clarify|reason=did Pawar make few (very little) developments, or did he make few (a few) developments?|date=January 2025}}

New elections to the Vidhan Sabha were held in 1995. The Shiv Sena-BJP coalition was leading Congress in the polls, and there was widespread rebellion in the Congress party.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} Shiv Sena-BJP won 138 seats while Congress retained only 80 seats in the state assembly. Pawar had to step down and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi took over as chief minister on 14 March 1995. Until the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. In the 1996 General elections, Pawar won the Baramati seat in the Lok Sabha and left the state assembly.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In June 1997, Pawar unsuccessfully challenged Sitaram Kesri for the post of President of the Indian National Congress. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1998, Pawar not only won his constituency, Baramati, but also led Congress to a win by a large majority{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=January 2016}} of Maharashtra Lok Sabha constituencies. Congress was aligned with the Republican Party of India (Athvale) and Samajwadi Party for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. The Congress party won 33 Lok Sabha seats outright, and the allied Republican Party of India won 4 more, for a total of 37 out of 48 in the state. Pawar served as Leader of Opposition in the 12th Lok Sabha.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In 1999, after the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to the 13th Lok Sabha were called, Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar demanded that the party needed to propose someone native-born as the prime ministerial candidate, instead of the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had entered party politics and replaced Kesri as Congress president. This led to the trio's expulsion from the party by the Congress working committee (CWC).{{cite book|first=Rasheed|last=Kidwai|title=Sonia: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2CobDtBQVGgC&pg=PR9|year=2011|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341686-9|page=109}} In response, Pawar and Sangma founded the Nationalist Congress Party in June 1999. Despite the falling out, the new party aligned with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra after the 1999 state assembly elections to prevent the Shiv Sena-BJP combine from returning to power.Palshikar, S., Birmal, N. and Ghotale, V., Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of Politics and Public Administration, University of Pune, 2010 CAS Occasional Paper Series: No. 4. page 14 [http://www.unipune.ac.in/dept/mental_moral_and_social_science/politics_and_public_administration/ppa_webfiles/pdf/OccasionalPaper-CAS/Coalition%20_CAS_%20Prof%20Palshikarnewx.pdf] Pawar, however, did not return to state politics and Vilasrao Deshmukh of Congress was chosen as chief minister, with Chagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as deputy chief minister.

File:Shri Sharad Pawar assumes the charge of Union Minister for Agriculture, Food & Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution in New Delhi on May 24, 2004.jpg

After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Pawar joined the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the Minister of Agriculture.{{cite book|first=Sanjaya|last=Baru|title=The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zbs0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT6|date=5 July 2015|publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited|isbn=978-93-5118-638-0}} He retained his portfolio when the UPA coalition government was reelected in 2009. He faced several crises and controversies during his tenure as Agriculture minister. Critics also point out that during his tenure as the minister agriculture, he spent time on cricket in his role as the president of BCCI than on his ministerial duties.

In 2007, the BJP asked for Pawar's resignation after alleging he was involved in a multi-crore Indian rupee (INR) scam involving wheat imports. In May 2007, a tender floated by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for procurement of wheat was cancelled when the lowest bid received was for US$263/ton. The government subsequently allowed private traders to purchase wheat directly from farmers that year resulting in a paucity of wheat to stock FCI granaries. By July 2007 the shortage at FCI was large enough to require import of wheat at a much higher price of 320–360 USD/ton. Taking advantage of this, traders who had domestically purchased wheat at 900 INR/ton earlier, were now offering the same to FCI at 1,300 INR/ton.[http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=NATION&file_name=nt2%2Etxt&counter_img=2 BJP seeks Pawar's resignation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811075111/http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=NATION&file_name=nt2.txt&counter_img=2 |date=11 August 2007 }} The Pioneer – 13 July 2007.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070716040146/http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/13/stories/2007071354361500.htm Wheat import scandalous: BJP]. The Hindu. 13 July 2007.

As the Minister of Agriculture, Pawar was consistently accused of colluding in the extreme hike in prices of agricultural produce:

• Wheat import in 2007 – The Bombay High Court issued notices to Union agriculture minister Pawar, questioning the decision to import defective red wheat, and asking for a directive to submit details of procurement of the crop from different states and the exact process of importing it.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/Clarification-on-wheat-imports-sought/article15734959.ece|title=Clarification on wheat imports sought|work=The Hindu|access-date=27 February 2017|language=en}}{{cite news |title=Wheat scam notice to Pawar |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071129/asp/nation/story_8606448.asp |date=29 November 2007 |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=7 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107090636/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071129/asp/nation/story_8606448.asp |archive-date=7 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}
• Sugar prices in 2009 – Opposition parties, including the BJP and the CPI(M) accused Pawar of engineering a steep rise in the price of sugar to the advantage of hoarders and importers.{{cite news |last=Joshi |first=Sandeep|title=Sugar scam brewing, says Brinda Karat |url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/07/stories/2009080760021100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090810185210/http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/07/stories/2009080760021100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 August 2009 |date=7 August 2009 |location=Chennai, India |work=The Hindu |access-date=7 November 2014}}
• Wheat, Sugar, Rice, and Bean prices in 2009–2010 – The opposition accused Pawar to be responsible on the issue of spiraling prices.{{cite news |title=BJP demands Sharad Pawar's resignation, CBI probe into 'scams' |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_bjp-demands-sharad-pawar-s-resignation-cbi-probe-into-scams_1338819 |date=24 January 2010 |website=Dnaindia.com |publisher=Daily News and Analysis |access-date=7 November 2014}}

Since the 1990s there had been a high number of farmer suicides in India: in excess of 10,000 per year, and totaling over 200,000 between 1997 and 2010.[http://www.indiatribune.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5389:every-12-hours-one-farmer-commits-suicide-in-india&catid=106:magazine Every 12 hours, one farmer commits suicide in India]. Indiatribune.com (6 November 2010). Retrieved on 21 May 2014. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828052301/http://www.indiatribune.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5389:every-12-hours-one-farmer-commits-suicide-in-india&catid=106:magazine |date=28 August 2012 }} Pawar, as the agricultural minister, in 2006 had understated the rate of farmer suicide in India.{{cite book|first=Surinder|last=Sud|title=The Changing Profile of Indian Agriculture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUvKm-C1qDIC&pg=PP7|year=2009|publisher=Business Standard Books|isbn=978-81-905735-5-9|page=87}} However, he claimed at that time that his department was taking the necessary steps to reduce the numbers.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140521164325/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/farmer-suicide-is-a-normal-thing-pawar/12245-4-single.html Farmer suicide is a normal thing: Pawar – IBNLive]. Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved on 21 May 2014.{{Citation needed|date=May 2016}} His ministry initiated a series of government inquiries to look into the causes of farmers' suicides in 2012. In 2013 Pawar admitted that the suicides was a serious issue with many factors being responsible, and he said the government was increasing investment in agriculture and raising minimum prices of crops to increase farmers' income.Stephenson, W. (22 January 2013). Indian farmers and suicide: How big is the problem? BBC News. Retrieved from [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21077458]

Even though the pesticide endosulfan has been banned, India is slow to phase it out.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025|reason=no source on the current phasing out of endosulfan in India, could be outdated}} In spite of its known negative health effects, Pawar made a remark that endosulfan is not yet proved dangerous. This remark prompted activist Dr. Vandana Shiva to call him a corrupt minister.{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/18/stories/2011041854300700.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110421075151/http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/18/stories/2011041854300700.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2011 |title=Tamil Nadu News: India should join consensus on Endosulfan ban: Vandana Shiva |work=The Hindu |date=18 April 2011 |access-date=26 November 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://agrariancrisis.in/2011/06/28/ban-endosulfan/ |title=Indian Agrarian Crisis – Ban Endosulfan |publisher=Agrariancrisis.in |access-date=26 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426020742/http://agrariancrisis.in/2011/06/28/ban-endosulfan/ |archive-date=26 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/article381407.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103235042/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/article381407.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 January 2014 |title=Kerala: Ban endosulfan, says Vandana Shiva |publisher=The New Indian Express |date=17 April 2011 |access-date=26 November 2011}}

In 2012, Pawar gave up the chairmanship of the Empowered Group of Ministers investigating the 2G spectrum case, days after his appointment by the prime minister, fearing that his association with the decision-making process would drag him into the 2G Spectrum controversy.{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pawar-quits-as-chairman-of-telecom-egom/969590/ | title= Pawar quits as chairman of telecom EGoM| date=3 July 2012}} In 2011, he resigned from the committee that was reviewing the draft of the anti-corruption Lokpal bill after his involvement was criticized by the anti-corruption campaigner, Anna Hazare.{{cite book|first=Rajdeep|last=Sardesai|title=2014: The Election That Changed India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IJBuBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT6|date=22 May 2015|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-81-8475-010-2|pages=6–}}

In January 2012, Pawar announced that he would not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, in order to make way for young leadership.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NCP-chief-Sharad-Pawar-to-make-way-for-GenNext-in-2014/articleshow/11667896.cms |title=NCP chief Sharad Pawar to make way for GenNext in 2014 |work=The Times of India |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130085834/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-29/india/30675770_1_ajit-pawar-ncp-leaders-supriya-sule |archive-date=30 January 2012}} Pawar is at present a member of the Rajya Sabha. He was elected to the body in April 2014 for a six-year term. He lost his ministerial position when the BJP-led NDA defeated the ruling UPA government, in which Pawar was the minister of agriculture, in the general elections of 2014.{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Wallace|title=India's 2014 Elections: A Modi-led BJP Sweep|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G7aICwAAQBAJ&pg=PA284|date=7 July 2015|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-93-5150-188-6|page=18}} Pawar's NCP also lost power in Maharashtra after the 2014 assembly elections. The BJP had won a plurality of seats in the new assembly and initially formed a minority government with the NCP.{{cite magazine |title=Maha twist: Sharad Pawar's NCP offers outside support to BJP, Shiv Sena waiting in the wings |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/maharashtra-elections-results-ncp-sharad-pawar-bjp-government/1/396619.html |date=19 October 2014 |magazine=India Today |access-date=28 October 2019}} The BJP's estranged ally, the Shiv Sena later joined the BJP-led government, and that government then did not need the support of the NCP. In May 2017, Pawar ruled out being a candidate for the June 2017 Indian presidential election.{{cite news |title=Presidential Election 2017: Sharad Pawar rules himself out, says don't want to retire from politics |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/presidential-election-2017-sharad-pawar-rules-himself-out-says-dont-want-to-retire-from-politics/693464/ |date=30 May 2017 |newspaper=Financial Express |access-date=31 May 2017}}

In the 2019 elections to the Lok Sabha, Pawar's NCP and the Congress party had a seat-sharing arrangement.{{cite news |title=Raj Thackeray, Dhananjay Munde in demand to campaign for Cong |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/elections/lok-sabha/maharashtra/raj-thackeray-dhananjay-munde-in-demand-to-campaign-for-cong/articleshow/68833350.cms |work=April 11 |agency=PTI |date=2019}} Similarly, despite their differences, the BJP and Shiv Sena once again contested the elections together under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) banner.{{cite news |title=Opinion Poll: BJP-Shiv Sena may lose 8 seats in Maharashtra, Congress-NCP to improve figures |url=https://www.newsnation.in/election/lok-sabha-election-2019/opinion-poll-lok-sabha-elections-2019-bjp-shiv-sena-seats-maharashtra-congress-ncp-sharad-pawar-devendra-fadnavis--article-216712.html |issue=23 March |publisher=New Nation |date=2019}} The election gave a landslide victory to Narendra Modi's BJP. Out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, the Congress party won only one seat in the state, whereas the NCP won five seats from its stronghold of western Maharashtra.{{cite web |url=https://www.esakal.com/loksabha-2019/result |title=Lok Shaba 2019 Results in Marathi |website=www.esakal.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523092022/https://www.esakal.com/loksabha-2019/result |archive-date=23 May 2019 |url-status=dead}}

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections were soon followed by elections to the Vidhan Sabhaa in October 2019.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} Predictions for the state's ruling BJP–Shiv Sena alliance to win by a large margin led to a steady stream of defections from the NCP to the ruling alliance. Pawar was the star campaigner for the NCP-Congress alliance in the state. His campaigning during the assembly election was credited with helping not only the NCP but also the leaderless Congress party.{{cite news |last1=Das |first1=Koustav |title=66 rallies, 54 seats: Sharad Pawar shows how to counter BJP in elections |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/maharashtra-assembly-election/story/66-rallies-54-seats-sharad-pawar-shows-how-to-counter-bjp-in-elections-1612879-2019-10-25 |access-date=29 January 2020 |work=India Today |issue=25 October 2019 |date=2019}} Against predictions, the actual voting left the ruling alliance with fewer seats than in 2014. Differences between the Shiv Sena and the BJP led to a month of political drama, with Pawar and his family playing a pivotal role. The drama ended with the NCP coming back into power on 28 November 2019, as part of a coalition between Shiv Sena, Congress, and the NCP, led by the Shiv Sena chief, Uddhav Thackeray, as the new chief minister of Maharashtra.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In June 2020, Pawar was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha.{{cite news |title=Rajya Sabha election 2020: Sharad Pawar, Ramdas Athawale among 37 elected unopposed, polls to 18 seats on March 26 |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/rajya-sabha-election-2020-sharad-pawar-ramdas-athawale-among-37-elected-unopposed-polls-to-18-seats-on-march-26/1902883/ |date=19 March 2020 |newspaper=Financial Express |agency=PTI |access-date=9 September 2020}}

Sharad Pawar, the founder and chief of NCP since 1999, announced his decision to step down from his post and also his unwillingness to contest elections in the future, at the launch of the second edition of his political memoirs 'Lok Maze Sangati' ('People Accompany Me'). Sharad Pawar has had a long period of public life from 1 May 1958 to 1 May 2023.{{cite news |last1=Deshpande |first1=Abhinay |title=Sharad Pawar steps down as NCP chief, says 'one has to stop somewhere' |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/sharad-pawar-steps-down-as-ncp-chief/article66802976.ece |access-date=4 May 2023 |work=The Hindu |date=2 May 2023 |language=en-IN}}

Sharad Pawar took back his decision to step down as national leader of National Congress Party, citing "strong sentiments" his resignation had evoked among the party workers as well as leaders across the country. The octogenarian leader clarified that he would focus on assigning new responsibilities, through organizational changes and creating new leadership.{{cite news |last1=Deshpande/ Banerjee |first1=Abhinay/ Shoumojit |title=Sharad Pawar takes back decision to resign as NCP chief |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sharad-pawar-takes-back-his-decision-to-resign-as-ncp-national-president/article66816361.ece |access-date=6 May 2023 |work=The Hindu |date=5 May 2023 |language=en-IN}}

{{Main|2023 Nationalist Congress Party split}}

In July 2023, Ajit Pawar rebelled against Sharad Pawar and joined the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena government and took oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The majority of NCP's sitting MLAs deserted the party in support of Ajit Pawar. He claimed to the election commission that he was the president of the NCP.{{Attribution needed|date=January 2025}} Later, in his followers' first public meeting, he claimed ownership over the party, including both its name and election symbol. This rebellion resulted in a schism in the party, between those who stayed loyal to Sharad Pawar and those who supported Ajit Pawar, similar to the 2022 Shiv Sena political crisis.[https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sharad-pawar-vs-ajit-pawar-battle-for-ncp-symbol-amid-ajit-pawars-ncp-control-push-loyalist-mlas-moved-to-a-hotel-4181713&ved=2ahUKEwjN3_3b3fn_AhVrbmwGHQFyD_4Q0PADKAB6BAgxEAE&usg=AOvVaw0DcZwwfgRvYfYWHdB_Lj_O Unknown]{{Dead link | date=April 2025 | fix-attempted=yes}}

Pawar has been appointed a member of the Coordination Committee of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at its Mumbai convention on 1 September 2023.{{Cite news |date=2023-07-19 |title=Opposition alliance named 'INDIA', 11-member coordination committee to decide on all important issues |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/opposition-alliance-named-india-to-hold-third-meeting-in-mumbai/articleshow/101860451.cms |access-date=2023-09-01 |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Mritunjay |title=Sharad Pawar, Tejashwi, Raghav Chadha Named In I.N.D.I.A's 13-Member Coordination Panel |url=https://news.abplive.com/news/india/india-coordination-committee-announcement-members-arvind-kejriwal-mamata-banerjee-nitish-kumar-1626766 |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=ABP Live |date=September 2023 |language=en}} The coordination committee will decide the national agenda, common campaign issues and common program of the country's main opposition alliance (I.N.D.I.A.).

Pawar has interests in cricket, kabbadi, kho kho, wrestling, and football.

He has served as the head of various sports organisations, including:

• Mumbai Cricket Association{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/Sharad-Pawar-resigns-as-MCA-president/article16896357.ece|title=Sharad Pawar resigns as MCA president|work=The Hindu|access-date=27 February 2017|language=en}}
• Maharashtra Wrestling Association
• Maharashtra Kabbadi Association
• Maharashtra Kho Kho Association
• Maharashtra Olympics Association
• Board of Control for Cricket in India President 2005–2008
• International Cricket Council Vice President[http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/about-icc/executive.html International Cricket Council – ICC Events, ICC Cricket Rankings, Live Cricket Scores, ODI Fantasy League, Test Predictor] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107065507/http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/about-icc/executive.html |date=7 January 2009 }}. Icc-cricket.yahoo.com (3 July 1951). Retrieved on 30 July 2011.
• International Cricket Council President{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/8778604.stm | work=BBC News | title=Pawar takes over as ICC president | date=1 July 2010}}

Early in his public career in 1972, Pawar founded Vidya Pratishthan{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://vidyapratishthan.com/vpc/?page_id=18 |date=2011 |website=Vidya Pratishthan |access-date=23 March 2022}} to serve the educational needs of the rural poor. The organisation now runs a number of schools at all levels, and colleges specialising in subjects such as information technology and Biotechnology in Baramati and other locations.{{cite book|first1=Amol C.|last1=Goje|first2=Shivanand S.|last2=Gornale|first3=Pravin L.|last3=Yannawar|title=Proceedings of the 2nd National Conference on Emerging Trends in Information Technology (eIT-2007)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHwsuHUFq0EC&pg=PA3|date=September 2011|publisher=I. K. International Pvt Ltd|isbn=978-81-89866-63-1|pages=3–}} Pawar is associated with the Hon. Sharad Pawar Public School,{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.sppskalwan.org/info/about-us |date=2015 |website=Hon. Sharad Pawar Public School |access-date=30 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208065801/http://www.sppskalwan.org/info/about-us |archive-date=8 December 2015 }}{{Clarify|reason=In what capacity he is associated with this school, is he a member of any committee or he is a trustee.|date=January 2022}} under the Shree Gurudatta Education Society;{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}} Sharad Pawar International School, Pune and the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy, near Mumbai. Pawar is the current president of the century-old educational organisation Rayat Shikshan Sanstha.{{cite web |date=24 April 2024 |title=Rayat Shikshan Sanstha Administrative Setup |url=http://rayatshikshan.edu/Content.aspx?ID=958&PID=956 |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=Rayat Shikshan Sanstha}}{{Update after|2022|1|17|reason=Is this statement is still showing present situation, is he still chief of Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, clarify, add year.}}

{{Criticism section|date=May 2025}}

In 1992–93, then-Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik made a statement that the state leader of the Indian National Congress party and erstwhile-Chief Minister Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on Pappu Kalani", a well-known criminal-turned-politician.{{cite news|title=The F-factor: Kalani certain of clean sweep |first=Gouri |last=Shah |work=The Economic Times |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/880573.cms |date=11 October 2004 |access-date=24 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041025171356/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/880573.cms |archive-date=25 October 2004 }} Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, later concurred with these allegations.

{{cite news| title = Thackeray blames Pawar for rise in crime| author = PTI | work = The Indian Express | url = http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/19981118/32250044.html | date = 18 November 1998 | access-date = 22 February 2009 | author-link = Press Trust of India}} Further, Chief Minister Naik also alleged that it was possible that Kalani and Hitendra Thakur, another criminal-turned-politician from Virar, had been given tickets to contest election for the Maharashtra State Legislature at the behest of Pawar, who also put in a word for Naik with the police when the latter was arrested for his role in post-Demolition of the Babri Masjid riots in Mumbai.{{cite news | title = Pawar men rattled by Naik's outburst | first = Prafulla | last = Marpakwar | work = The Indian Express | url = http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19970507/12750503.html | date = 7 May 1997| access-date = 22 February 2009| url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140219130604/http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19970507/12750503.html | archive-date = 19 February 2014 | df = dmy-all}}

Pawar is also alleged to have close links with the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim[http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?200790 Pawar's Time Of Reckoning]. www.outlookindia.com. 14 February 1996. Retrieved on 6 December 2011. through Ibrahim's henchman Lakhan Singh based in the Middle East and a close relationship with Shahid Balwa, who is also a suspect in the 2G spectrum case. These allegations were strengthened by the revelation about the involvement of Vinod Goenka, Balwa's business partner, in a controversial commercial project in Yerwada, Pune, which was being constructed under the same survey number as Pawar's family friend, Atul Chordia, had constructed the Panchshil Tech Park. BJP leader Eknath Khadse alleged that it was Balwa who had applied for environmental clearance for the two projects, a charge that Chordia refuted. Coincidentally, Chordia's Panchshil Pvt. Ltd. has Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule, and her husband Sadanand as investors.[http://www.dnaindia.com/blogs/post_will-maharashtra-forgive-sharad-pawar_1581568 Will Maharashtra forgive Sharad Pawar? – Blogs – DNA]. Dnaindia.com. 5 April 2011. Retrieved on 6 December 2011.

The state government's decision to hand over a 3-acre plot of the Yerwada police station for "redevelopment" to Balwa was retracted following Balwa's arrest. For several years, confusion existed about the number of blasts in the 1993 Bombay Bombings, whether they were 12 or 13 in number. This was because Pawar, the then chief minister of Maharashtra, stated on television that day that there had been 13 blasts, and included a Muslim-dominated locality in the list. He later revealed that he had lied on purpose, and that there had been only 12 blasts, none of them in Muslim-dominated areas; he also confessed that he had attempted to mislead the public into believing that the blasts could be the work of the LTTE, a Sri Lankan militant organization, when in fact intelligence reports had already confirmed to him that Mumbai's Muslim underworld (known as the "D-Company," a reference to Dawood Ibrahim) were the perpetrators of the serial blasts.{{cite web |title=1993 Mumbai Blasts: When Sharad Pawar made up a thirteenth blast |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/1993-mumbai-blasts-when-sharad-pawar-made-up-a-thirteenth-blast |access-date=2 November 2022 |website=Free Press Journal |language=en}}

On 27 October 2007, the Bombay High Court served notices to institutions headed by Pawar, Ajit Pawar, and Sadanand Sule (Pawar's son-in-law), along with a corresponding notice served to the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) on why special privileges were given to Pawar and his family. This was done in consideration of Public Interest Litigation No. 148 of 2006, filed by Shamsunder Potare alleging that the said 2002 land allocations in Pune were illegal. The institutions and properties mentioned include:

• Two {{convert|141.15|acre|ha|adj=on}} plots were allotted to Vidya Pratishthan, an educational society headed by Sharad Pawar.
• A {{convert|2|acre|ha|adj=on}} plot allotted to Anant Smriti Pratishthan, headed by Ajit Pawar, the Maharashtra state minister for irrigation and Pawar's nephew.
• A {{convert|32.12|acre|ha|adj=on}} plot allotted to Lavasa Corporation, owned by Sule. Sule handed over his share in 2006.{{clarify|date=November 2014}}{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}}
• A {{convert|1|acre|ha|adj=on}} plot allotted to Shivajinagar Agriculture College.
• A {{convert|3|acre|ha|adj=on}} plot allotted to Sharadchandraji Scout and Guide Training Institute.

These allocations were allegedly made by NCP leader and minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, who was in charge of MKVDC at the time.{{cite news|title=Pawar in trouble over land allotment |first=Shiv |last=Kumar |publisher=Tribune India |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071028/nation.htm#3 |date=27 October 2007 |access-date=22 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331060225/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071028/nation.htm |archive-date=31 March 2009 }}{{cite news|title=HC notices to Sharad Pawar, family |first=Shloka |last=Nath |publisher=NDTV |url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070030856 |date=27 October 2007 |access-date=22 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230042334/http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070030856 |archive-date=30 December 2007 }} Pawar was served a contempt of court notice on 1 May 2008 in connection with this case for issuing statements to the press even though the matter was subjudice at the time. Also in connection with the case, the respondents were directed not to create third-party interests in the property under dispute and to undertake any developments at their own risk.{{cite news | title = CIVIL APPLICATION NO.101/2007 in PIL NO.148/2006 | author = Judge Bilal Nazki and Judge S. A. Bobde | publisher = Bombay High Court | url = http://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/data/civil/2008/CAI361008120308.pdf

| date = 12 March 2008 | access-date = 7 November 2014 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131018053333/http://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/data/civil/2008/CAI361008120308.pdf

| archive-date = 18 October 2013 | df = dmy-all }}{{cite news| title = Notice to Sharad Pawar for contempt | author = Times of India | work = Times of India | url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Notice_to_Sharad_Pawar_for_contempt/rssarticleshow/2999716.cms | date = 1 May 2008 | access-date = 7 November 2014 }}

In 2010, in the case of tax exemptions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Desai alleged that the state cabinet decided in January to impose the tax, before the year's IPL season started, but the decision was not implemented because of NCP chief Pawar's association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/tax-exemptions-for-rich-costs-govt-rs-4-6l-cr/articleshow/11149543.cms|title=Tax exemptions for rich costs govt Rs 4.6L cr |website=The Times of India|date=18 December 2011 }} Bombay High Court in August 2010 said there was "nothing on record" to show that the Union Minister influenced the Maharashtra government's decision to exempt Indian Premier League matches from entertainment tax.{{cite web|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-08-24/news/27613804_1_entertainment-tax-ipl-exemption|title=No proof to show Pawar influenced IPL exemption from tax: HC|date=24 August 2010|website=The Economic Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015132453/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-08-24/news/27613804_1_entertainment-tax-ipl-exemption|archive-date=15 October 2013}}

In 2011, Pawar declared his assets to be worth {{INRConvert|120|m|nolink=yes|year=2011}} as part of a mandatory disclosure, but his critics claimed that his wealth far exceeded the stated amount.[http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-indias-most-hated-politicians/20111207.htm India's Most Hated Politicians: Sharad Pawar], Rediff.com, 7 December 2011.Abhay Vaidya & Partha Sarathi Biswas. [http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sharad-pawar-fooled-all-with-rs12-crore-assets-disclosure_1586905 Sharad Pawar fooled all with Rs12 crore assets disclosure]. DNA, 14 September 2011. In 2010, it was alleged that the Pawar family indirectly held a 16% stake in the City Corporation, which had bid {{INRConvert|11.76|b|nolink=yes|year=2010}} for the Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pawar and his family denied the allegations, but the bidders board of the IPL contradicted their claims.[https://web.archive.org/web/20131015191606/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-06-06/india/28313302_1_deshpande-bid-pawar-sule-lap-finance IPL bidder's January 31 board resolution contradicts Pawar & Sule's claims]. The Times of India, 2010.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100608162801/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ipl-controversy-refuses-to-shed-pawar--family/122045-37-64.html Pawar & family get entangled in IPL mess], IBNLive 25 June 2010.[http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_ipl-scam-most-serious-blow-to-sharad-pawar-s-power-credibility_1392793 IPL scam most serious blow to Sharad Pawar's power, credibility], DNA, 7 June 2010.

In 2011, under investigation of the 2G spectrum case Nira Radia told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that Agriculture Minister Pawar may be controlling the controversial DB Realty. According to the reports, she also told the investigative agency that Pawar may have spoken with former telecom minister A. Raja about the allocation of spectrum and licence to Swan Telecom. Radia also said that she had no documentary proof to back up her allegations.{{cite web |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Sharad-Pawar-controlls-DB-Realty-Niira-Radia-to-CBI/Article1-685047.aspx |title=Hindustan Times - Archive News |access-date=31 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915021903/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Sharad-Pawar-controlls-DB-Realty-Niira-Radia-to-CBI/Article1-685047.aspx |archive-date=15 September 2012 }} Sharad Pawar {{sic|controlls|expected=controls}} DB Realty: Niira Radia to CBI, Hindustan Times 14 April 2011. Pawar has denied any link with former DB managing director Shahid Balwa, who is now in CBI custody.{{Cite news |date=11 February 2011 |title=Pawar denies links with DB Realty's Shahid Balwa |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pawar-denies-links-with-db-realtys-shahid-balwa/articleshow/7475400.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250128161708/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pawar-denies-links-with-db-realtys-shahid-balwa/articleshow/7475400.cms |archive-date=28 January 2025 |access-date=28 January 2025 |work=The Economic Times}}

Pawar is alleged to have demanded compensation for allowing the planned city Lavasa to be constructed. When Lavasa Corporation was receiving necessary clearances from the government of Maharashtra, relatives of Pawar had part-ownership of the company developing the project.{{cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/special_lavasa-trail-reinforces-the-sharad-pawar-connection-and-ipl-link_1486204|title=Lavasa trail reinforces the Sharad Pawar connection & IPL link|first=Abhay|last=Vaidya|publisher=DNA|date=26 December 2010|place=Pune|access-date=21 February 2011}} Pawar's daughter and son-in-law had more than 20% ownership between 2002 and 2004, and they later sold their stakes.{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article859868.ece|title=Symbolic of luxury, Lavasa is built on irregularities|first=Amruta|last=Byatnal|date=31 October 2010|access-date=21 February 2011|location=Chennai, India|work=The Hindu}} A nephew of his was chairman of Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) when the MKVDC signed off on lease agreements for Lavasa and allowed it to store water and build dams.[http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/33283 Sharad Pawar's, Ajit Pawar's and Supriya Sule's names also prominently figure in the multi-crore Lavasa land scam]. Downtoearth.org.in (15 April 2011). Retrieved on 30 July 2011.{{cite news|title=Medha Patkar slams Pawar over alleged involvement in Lavasa project|work=Indian Express|date=22 December 2010|location=Aurangabad}}

After the 2010 Pune bombing of German Bakery, Pawar appeared to take the incident lightly. He said to the reporters, "It is not alright to arrive at a conclusion that the entire Pune city has been targeted. The place where the blast took place is an isolated area", adding, "When I was Chief Minister, Mumbai saw 11 simultaneous blasts but everything returned to normal soon."{{cite news|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/9+killed,+foreigners+among+57+injured+in+Pune+bakery+blast/1/83796.html|title=Not alright to say entire Pune targeted, says Pawar|newspaper=India Today, Headlines Today Bureau|date=13 February 2010}}

Pawar was slapped by a youth named Harvinder Singh at the New Delhi Municipal Corporation Centre while leaving the premises after attending a literary function on 24 November 2011.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-15868349 BBC News – India agriculture minister Sharad Pawar slapped]. Bbc.co.uk (24 November 2011). Retrieved on 6 December 2011. The attacker, who was previously said to have also assaulted former telecom minister Sukh Ram,{{Cite web |date=2011-11-19 |title=Sukhram assaulted in court after sentencing, police thrash attacker |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/sukhram-assault-146261-2011-11-18 |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=India Today |language=en}} was later arrested in 2019.{{Cite news |last=Singh Sengar |first=Mukesh |date=13 November 2019 |editor-last=Varma |editor-first=Shylaja |title=Man Who Slapped Sharad Pawar In 2011 Arrested By Delhi Police |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/man-who-slapped-sharad-pawar-in-2011-arvinder-singh-arrested-by-delhi-police-2131794 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418020501/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/man-who-slapped-sharad-pawar-in-2011-arvinder-singh-arrested-by-delhi-police-2131794 |archive-date=18 April 2024 |access-date=28 January 2025 |work=New Delhi Television}}

In 2018, Pawar asked party members to felicitate him with the pagadi (turban) of social reformer Mahatma Phule, instead of the usual Puneri Pagadi worn by peshwas (prime ministers) of the Maratha Empire. In response to criticism that he was trying to stir up anti-Brahmin sentiment and appeal to Dalits, Pawar said that he wasn't rejecting any section of society but honoring his idols Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, and Shahu Maharaj.{{cite news |title=Pawar clarifies stand on controversial rejection of 'Puneri pagdi', says it was not rejection of any section of society |url=https://m.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/pawar-clarifies-stand-on-controversial-rejection-of-puneri-pagdi-says-it-was-not-rejection-of-any-section-of-society/story-wzDkdmAORApkrPaZ3EujpN.html |date=17 June 2018 |newspaper=Hindustan Times |access-date=1 October 2018}}{{cite news |title=Amid controversy, NCP chief Sharad Pawar raises 'pagadi' issue again |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/amid-controversy-ncp-chief-sharad-pawar-raises-pagadi-issue-again-5220792/ |date=17 June 2018 |newspaper=The Indian Express |agency=Express News Service |access-date=1 October 2018}}{{cite news |title=शाहू फुलेंचा अभिमान म्हणून फुले पगडीचा आग्रह धरला; शरद पवार यांचे स्पष्टीकरण |trans-title=Turban is Meant to Honour Mahatma Phule |url=https://divyamarathi.bhaskar.com/news/MAH-PUN-IFTM-so-the-fule-insist-on-the-turban-sharad-pawars-explanation-5896932-NOR.html |date=17 June 2018 |newspaper=Dainik Divya Marathi |language=mr |access-date=1 October 2018}}

File:The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Vibhushan Award to Shri Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 30, 2017.jpg

• Padma Vibhushan (2017) – In 2017, Pawar was honored with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, on the recommendation of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.{{cite news|last1=Anandan|first1=Sujata|title=More to Pawar's Padma award than meets the eye?|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/more-to-pawar-s-padma-award-than-meets-the-eye/story-tN4f4lvg6m8ybW8F5vsRwL.html|access-date=9 May 2018|issue=2 February 2017|work=Hindustan Times|date=2017}} The timing of the award was questioned by observers and some attributed it to political motivations of the BJP.{{cite news |last=Manoj |first=C.J. |title=Padma award to Sharad Pawar: Political observers question timing |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/padma-award-to-sharad-pawar-political-observers-question-timing/articleshow/56787616.cms |date=26 January 2017 |newspaper=The Economic Times |access-date=4 July 2018}}
• Newsmakers Achievers Awards 2022{{cite web |title=Nominations are open for Afternoon Voice's 14th Newsmakers Achievers Awards 2022 |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/business/business/nominations-are-open-for-afternoon-voices-14th-newsmakers-achievers-awards-202220220317103718/ |website=ANI News |language=en}}
• Honoured Lokmat Parliamentary lifetime achievement award in the hands of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu for parliamentarians who bring about progress, create hope and are a source of inspiration and pride for country.{{Cite web |date=2018-12-12 |title=Naidu to honour eight parliamentarians for their contribution |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/Dec/12/naidu-to-honour-eight-parliamentarians-for-their-contribution-1910631.html |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}

In 1999, Pawar was diagnosed with oral cancer{{cite news |title=Pawar underwent surgery due to effects of gutkha |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/pawar-underwent-surgery-due-to-effects-of-gutkha/articleshow/16302090.cms |date=18 July 2002 |newspaper=The Times of India |access-date=6 April 2021}} and had oral surgery in April 2004.{{cite news |last=SOONDAS |first=ANAND |title=Party pale after Pawar illness |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/party-pale-after-pawar-illness/cid/753492 |date=4 April 2004 |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=6 April 2021}} In March 2021, he underwent surgery for his gallbladder problem.{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Zara |title=NCP chief Sharad Pawar to undergo surgery for gallbladder stones |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/ncp-chief-sharad-pawar-to-undergo-surgery-for-gallbladder-stones-101617004965700.html |date=29 March 2021 |newspaper=Hindustan Times |access-date=6 April 2021}}

• First Sharad Pawar ministry
• Political families of Maharashtra

{{Portal bar|politics|Biography|India}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• P. K. Ravindranath (1 February 1992) Sharad Pawar- the making of a modern maratha South Asia Books. {{ISBN|81-85674-46-9}}
• Page 23 of the Times of India, New Delhi, India, Tuesday, 12 December 2006
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7940665.stm Profile] at BBC News
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130201155344/http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Members/Biography.aspx?mpsno=327 Profile at government of India website]

{{Commons category}}

• {{Twitter}}

Article based on personal experience with [https://satyajett.com/baramati/sharad-pawar-house-museum-books/ Sharad Pawar]

{{s-start}}

{{s-off}}

{{s-bef | before = Vasantdada Patil}}

{{s-ttl | title = Chief Minister of Maharashtra| years = 18 July 1978 – 17 February 1980}}

{{s-aft | after =A R Antule}}

{{s-bef | before = Shankarrao Chavan}}

{{s-ttl | title = Chief Minister of Maharashtra| years = 26 June 1988 – 25 June 1991}}

{{s-aft | after =Sudhakarrao Naik}}

{{s-bef | before = Chandra Shekhar}}

{{s-ttl | title = Minister of Defence| years = 26 June 1991 – 6 March 1993}}

{{s-aft | after =P. V. Narasimha Rao}}

{{s-bef | before = Shankarrao Chavan}}

{{s-ttl | title = Chief Minister of Maharashtra| years = 6 March 1993 – 14 March 1995}}

{{s-aft | after =Manohar Joshi}}

{{s-bef | before = Rajnath Singh}}

{{s-ttl| title = Minister of Agriculture| years = 23 May 2004 - 26 May 2014}}

{{s-aft | after = Radha Mohan Singh}}

{{s-bef | before = Sharad Yadav}}

{{s-ttl| title = Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution| years = 23 May 2004 - 19 January 2011}}

{{s-aft | after = K. V. Thomas}}

{{s-par|in-lwr}}

{{s-bef | before = Atal Bihari Vajpayee}}

{{s-ttl | title = Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha| years = 19 March 1998 – 26 April 1999}}

{{s-aft | after =Sonia Gandhi}}

{{s-bef | before = Shankarrao Bajirao Patil}}

{{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Baramati| years = 1984-1985}}

{{s-aft | after =Sambhajirao Kakade}}

{{s-bef | before = Ajit Pawar}}

{{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Baramati| years = 1991-1994}}

{{s-aft | after =Bapusaheb Thite}}

{{s-bef | before = Bapusaheb Thite}}

{{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Baramati| years = 1996-2004}}

{{s-aft | after =Supriya Sule}}

{{s-civ}}

{{s-bef | before = Rameshwar Thakur}}

{{s-ttl | title = Presidents of the Bharat Scouts and Guides| years = 2001–2004}}

{{s-aft | after =Rameshwar Thakur}}

{{s-bef | before = Ranbir Singh Mahendra}}

{{s-ttl | title = President, Board of Control for Cricket in India| years = 2005–2008}}

{{s-aft | after =Shashank Manohar}}

{{s-bef | before = David Morgan}}

{{s-ttl | title = President, International Cricket Council| years = 2010–2012}}

{{s-aft | after =Alan Issac}}

{{s-ppo}}

{{s-bef|before=D. Devaraj Urs}}

{{s-ttl|title=President of the Indian Congress (Socialist)|years=1981–1986}}

{{s-non|reason=Merged with the Indian National Congress}}

{{s-bef|before=position established}}

{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the Nationalist Congress Party in the Lok Sabha|years=1998–2014}}

{{s-aft|after=Supriya Sule}}

{{s-end}}

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}

{{Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra for term 2010-2016}}

{{Cabinet of Manmohan Singh}}

{{Defence Ministers of India}}

{{Chief Ministers of Maharashtra}}

{{Presidents of ICC}}

{{Presidents of BCCI}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pawar, Sharad}}

Category:1940 births

Category:Living people

Category:Marathi politicians

Category:People from Baramati

Category:Chief ministers of Maharashtra

Category:Indian cricket administrators

Category:Politicians from Pune

Category:India MPs 2009–2014

Category:India MPs 2004–2009

Category:India MPs 1999–2004

Category:India MPs 1998–1999

Category:India MPs 1996–1997

Category:India MPs 1991–1996

Category:India MPs 1984–1989

Category:Nationalist Congress Party politicians from Maharashtra

Category:Scouting and Guiding in India

Category:Indian politicians with disabilities

Category:Union ministers from Maharashtra

Category:Leaders of political parties in India

Category:Agriculture ministers of India

Category:Presidents of the International Cricket Council

Category:Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra

Category:Indian political party founders

Category:Leaders of the opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

Category:Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra

Category:Chief ministers from Indian National Congress

Category:Presidents of the Board of Control for Cricket in India

Category:Indian Congress (Socialist) politicians

Category:Ministers of defence of India

Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs

Category:Indian National Congress (U) politicians

Category:Nationalist Congress Party (SP) politicians

Category:Maharashtra MLAs 1967–1972

Category:Maharashtra MLAs 1972–1978

Category:Maharashtra MLAs 1978–1980

Category:Maharashtra MLAs 1980–1985

Category:Maharashtra MLAs 1985–1990

Category:Maharashtra MLAs 1990–1995

Category:Members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council