Coveted post of Maharashtra Chief Minister eluded Ajit Pawar, a six-time Deputy CM

He had distinction of having worked as the deputy for four Chief Ministers and handled several key portfolios like Finance, Power and Water Resources

For Ajit Anantrao Pawar, who died in a plane crash at Baramati in Maharashtra on Wednesday, the post of Deputy Chief Minister came easily even as the coveted post of Maharashtra Chief Minister eluded him all his life.

In December 2024, he became the Deputy Chief Minister for a record sixth term. The 66-year-old was the senior-most and most-experienced Minister in the BJP-led Mahayuti government.

He had distinction of having worked as the deputy for four Chief Ministers — Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.

A former one-term Lok Sabha member from Baramati and eight-time Baramati MLA, Ajit had ministerial experience of over 25 years. He handled several key portfolios like Finance, Power and Water Resources. Ajit played key roles in coalition governments and was noted for his ability to navigate complex alliances and legislative challenges.

Son of late Anantrao Pawar, the elder brother of veteran politician and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder-president Sharad Pawar, Ajit made his foray into politics in 1982 when he was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory.

He was elected as chairman of the Pune District Cooperative Bank in 1991 and remained in post for 16 years. Before becoming an MLA, he was an MP from Baramati, but vacated the seat for his uncle when the latter became the Defence Minister in the P V Narsimha Rao government.

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 the drought.

His name figured in the alleged Rs 70,000-crore irrigation scam. The uncle-nephew duo was booked by the Mumbai police and the Enforcement Directorate in the Rs 25,000-crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam.

Political shifts

His last few years were marked by significant political shifts. After the BJP’s alliance with the Shiv Sena broke, Ajit became the Deputy Chief Minister in the Fadnavis's Cabinet, but the government did not survive. Thereafter, he joined the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and handled the Finance portfolio.

After the MVA government collapsed, he became the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, but often was criticised for being soft on Shinde-Fadnavis government.

In July 2024, he led a major faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to join the State government, eventually securing the party's 'clock' symbol and name.

In the past few months, he was working toward unity, having recently forged a local alliance with the NCP (Sharad Pawar) for the municipal elections in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.