How Ajit Pawar reshaped the Pawar dynasty

Old archive picture of Ajit Pawar

Govindrao and Shardabai Pawar had 11 children, including seven sons and four daughters. Their political influence came mainly from Shardabai Pawar, who was active in the Peasants and Workers Party and later the Congress. In 1938, she was elected unopposed to the Pune local board and was among the few women in politics in the district at the time.

Sharad Pawar has often said it was his mother who taught the family the value of public service and hard work.

Among their children were

• Vasantrao Pawar, a lawyer who was killed in a land dispute
• Dinkarrao Pawar, an agriculturist
• Anantrao Pawar, father of Ajit Pawar
• Madhavrao Pawar, who ran industrial units
• Suryakant Pawar, an architect
• Sarla Jagtap
• Saroj Patil, wife of Left leader N D Patil
• Sharad Pawar
• Meena Jagdhane
• Pratap Pawar, who heads the Sakal newspaper group
• Neela Sasane

While Sharad Pawar became the family’s political face, his siblings built influence in law, business, media and cooperatives.

The second generation

The second generation largely stayed united behind Sharad Pawar for many years.

From Dinkarrao Pawar’s branch came Rajendra and Ranjit Pawar, who built businesses in agriculture. Rajendra Pawar’s son Rohit Pawar entered politics in 2019 and won the Karjat Jamkhed Assembly seat. He is now seen as one of the younger faces of Sharad Pawar’s group.

From Anantrao Pawar’s branch came Ajit Pawar. Rising through the cooperative sector, he became Sharad Pawar’s closest political aide in the 1990s. Ajit Pawar went on to become one of the most powerful leaders in the state, serving several terms as Deputy Chief Minister and handling key departments such as Irrigation and Finance.

Ajit Pawar’s family also entered politics. His son Parth Pawar contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Maval and lost. His wife Sunetra Pawar stepped into electoral politics in 2024.

Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule entered Parliament in 2009 and became the main political face of her father’s camp.

NCP leader Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar. (Express Archive Photo by Mukesh Parpiani) 

The family feud becomes public

Cracks in the family became visible after Supriya Sule entered politics and later when Rohit Pawar won his Assembly seat in 2019. Ajit Pawar, who saw himself as Sharad Pawar’s natural successor, felt sidelined.

In 2019, Ajit Pawar briefly formed a government with the BJP before returning to Sharad Pawar’s camp. The break became final in July 2023, when Ajit Pawar split the NCP and joined the BJP led government.

Most members of the Pawar family stayed with Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar publicly complained of being treated as an outsider by his own relatives. His brother Shriniwas is believed to have campaigned against him.

Supriya Sule vs Sunetra Pawar

The family split was laid bare in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Baramati, when Supriya Sule faced Sunetra Pawar in a direct contest.

For the first time, the Pawar family stronghold saw a fight between two women from the same clan, standing on opposite sides of the political divide. Supriya Sule represented her father Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction, while Sunetra Pawar was fielded by Ajit Pawar’s group with the backing of the BJP.

The campaign turned into a battle for control of the Pawar legacy. Supriya Sule projected herself as the heir to Sharad Pawar’s politics, while Sunetra Pawar sought votes in Ajit Pawar’s name and highlighted his work in the region.

Sule won the election, dealing a blow to Ajit Pawar’s attempt to wrest Baramati from his uncle’s camp. The result showed that Sharad Pawar still commanded strong loyalty in the family bastion, even after the party split. Ajit Pawar however trumped his uncle in the 2024 Assembly elections. In recent months, there had also been growing speculation of a possible rapprochement between the two Pawar camps, driven by electoral setbacks and the practical limits of a divided family and party. Leaders from both sides had maintained discreet channels of communication, and the decision of the two NCP factions to cooperate in some local body elections was seen as an early signal of softening positions.

After Ajit Pawar

Ajit Pawar’s death leaves the Pawar family politically divided.

Sharad Pawar remains the senior figure in the clan. Supriya Sule and Rohit Pawar now carry forward his political line. On Ajit Pawar’s side, Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar remain the visible faces, though without Ajit Pawar’s personal grip over party and government.