Ajit Pawar: NCP's go-getter

He grew under the tutelage of his uncle but Ajit Pawar has carved a niche in Maharashtra politics early in his life.

The 60-year-old Dada, as he is popularly known, is a no-nonsense administrator but he often lands in controversies.

Having handled several key portfolios, Pawar Jr, a former Deputy Chief Minister, brings with him vast experience of handling important portfolios like Power, Finance, Water Resources - when he formally becomes the Leader of Opposition.

Ajit is a seven-time MLA from Baramati in Pune district.

He is son of Anantrao Pawar, the elder brother of Sharad Pawar. Before becoming an MLA, he was an MP from Baramati, but vacated the seat for Pawar, when the latter became the Defence Minister in the PV Narsimha Rao government.

Born on July 22, 1959, he learned politics from Pawar and now calls the shots in the 20-year-old party. He is a go-getter in the NCP and calls a spade a spade.

When the Congress-NCP government was in power, Pawar Jr landed in trouble when he said whether he should 'urinate" to fill dams during drought.

His name came to the alleged Rs 70,000 crore irrigation. Recently, the uncle-nephew duo was booked in the Rs 25,000 crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam, after which he resigned as an MLA and also broke down.

He is married to Sunetra Pawar, who hails form a political family. They have two sons, Parth and Jay. Parth lost the Lok Sabha polls from Maval.