Ajit Pawar: 'Dada' who never made it to the CM's chair

Mumbai: An early riser, Ajit Pawar used to wake up just after 4 am and immediately head towards his home-office where he cleared files and did notings.

By 5 am, he would make his way into the garden to look after his plants. By 6, whether he was in Baramati or Pune city, he used to hit the streets in spotless white kurta-pajamas but in Mumbai, he would began meetings with officers.

He often reached Mantralaya, the state secretariat, even before the staff entered. After a hectic day’s schedule, he would come home late, often after midnight. If one visited his office, one did not see a single pending file.

Ajit Dada, as the veteran Maharashtra politician was popularly known, was different. The 66-year-old Dada always used to be in the news - whether in Treasury or Opposition benches.

He was known for calling a spade a spade and often used strong language. He was an efficient administrator and a man with a subtle sense of humour.

A one-term Lok Sabha member from Baramati and eight-time MLA from Baramati, he became the Deputy Chief Minister six times in three different governments under four different Chief Ministers.

However, the post of Chief Minister eluded him. A fact, he regretted several times, in both private and public.

Humble beginnings

Born on 2 July 1959 to the late Anantrao Pawar and Ashatai Pawar, he came from a humble background.

Anantrao Pawar, the elder brother of Sharad Pawar, had initially worked for renowned filmmaker V Shantaram's Rajkamal Studios in Mumbai. He hails from the village of Katewadi in Baramati. He attended school in Deolali Pravara but dropped out of college to help his family after the death of his father.

Immediate family

Ajit Pawar is married to Sunetra Pawar, who is now a NCP Rajya Sabha MP. He was two sons Parth and Jay, who handle the family businesses across sectors.

Joining politics

Ajit Pawar started off under the mentorship of his uncle Sharad Pawar, a four-time Maharashtra Chief Minister. Ajit Pawar made his foray into politics in 1982, when he was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory. He was elected as a Chairman of the Pune District Co-operative Bank (PDC) in 1991 and remained in post for 16 years.

He was an MP from Baramati, but vacated the seat for Sharad Pawar, when the latter became the Defence Minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government.

Over the next three decades, he would be re-elected multiple times from the Baramati, often by huge margins. His victories in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024 reflected his strong connection to the electorate.

Ajit Pawar: The Minister

Ajit Pawar became the Minister of State for Agriculture and Power in Sudhakarrao Naik's government from 1991 to 1992. He became the Minister of State for Soil Conservation, Power and Planning in 1992 when Sharad Pawar returned the Chief Minister after resigning as the Defence Minister in the aftermath of Mumbai riots.

In 1999, when the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government came to power, he became a minister and handled portfolios like Power, Finance, Irrigation/Water Resources. As the state Finance Minister, he has presented the State Budget, a record 11 times.

He had a ministerial experience of close to three decades having worked under several CMs - Sudhakarrao Naik, Sharad Pawar, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis and Uddhav Thackeray. As Deputy CM, he has worked for four CMs - Prithviraj Chavan, Fadnavis, Thackeray and Shinde.

Besides, he has also been the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. He has been part of three governments - Democratic Front, Maha Vikas Aghadi and Maha Yuti - and has always left his mark with work.

Irrigation scam

When the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government was in power, Ajit landed in trouble when he said whether he should 'urinate" to fill dams during drought. His name figured in the alleged Rs 70,000 crore irrigation. The uncle-nephew duo were booked by the Mumbai police and Enforcement Directorate in the Rs 25,000 crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam, after which he resigned as an MLA and also broke down. In 2023, ahead of the NCP split, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged Congress and NCP were the most corrupt parties and spoke of the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam and the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam. However, he has got a clean chit.

Controversies

Ajit Pawar because of his plain language, often landed in controversies. When the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government was in power, Ajit landed in trouble when he said whether he should 'urinate" to fill dams during drought. "There is this person from Solapur, sitting on hunger strike for 55 days demanding water be released from the dam. But where are we going to get water from? Should we urinate? And when we are not getting water to drink even urine is not coming easily," Mr Pawar had said at a rally in Indapur in Pune. However, he later tendered an apology.

In September, he was in news when he was seen rebuking, reprimanding and threatening a young lady Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anjana Krishna V S, deposed as an Sub Divisional Police Officer in Solapur district, who was taking action in the Kurdu village in Madha tehsil on complaints of illegal excavation of ‘murrum’.

‘I also wanted to be CM’

The post of the Chief Minister always eluded Ajit Pawar. “Everyone wants their leader to be the Chief Minister. When I say this I also figure in it. But to become Chief Minister one has to reach the majority number. Not everyone's wish is fulfilled…I also aspire to serve as CM,” he had said in a public function.

"Let's be clear and frank. The person who commands the magic figure of 145 (in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly) becomes the Chief Minister,” he had told this to a DH correspondent in an interview.

On him being missed the CM ship in 2004, he said: “The Congress and NCP had fought the elections together and they got 69 seats and 71 seats, respectively. However, in exchange for a few portfolios the post of Chief Minister was given to Congress. It's not about me. If the NCP had got the Chief Ministership, we would have gone far ahead.”