The Pawars: A powerpuff family across three generations

Sharad Pawar is the eight child of Govindrao and Shardabai Pawar who had seven sons and four daughters. Pawar’s political grounding is said to have been inspired by the activism of his mother Shardabai Pawar, who was associated with the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) and the Congress. In 1938, Shardabai got elected unopposed in the Pune local board elections and was one of the very few women politicians in Pune district.

Sharad Pawar often credits his mother for imbibing in him and his siblings a respect for hard work and commitment to public causes.

Pawar”s eldest brother Vasantrao Pawar was a noted lawyer who operated in Pune district when he was shot dead over a land dispute. Along with Vasantrao, three other brothers of Sharad are now deceased. They include Dinkarrao Pawar, who was an agriculturist, Anantrao Pawar who is the father of Ajit Pawar, and Madhavrao Pawar, who set up his own industrial units.

Suryakant Pawar is an architect who has interests in the real estate sector. He is followed by Sarla Jagtap and Saroj Patil. Patil is the wife of late Narayan Dyandeo Patil, a towering figure in the state’s Left movement, who was associated with the PWP. Sharad Pawar and N D Patil represented two contrasting approaches to politics and faced off on various political issues, but never let that come in the way of their personal relations.

Sharad Pawar is the eight child in the family, followed by Meena Jagdhane, Pratap Pawar, who heads the Sakal group of newspapers, and Neela Sasane.

Sharad has been active in electoral politics since 1967, when he won his first Assembly election from Baramati. After that, he had an uninterrupted tenure in the Maharashtra Assembly or Parliament, till he said he was “withdrawing from electoral politics” in 2019.

He has served as chief minister of Maharashtra four times and has had a long stint in the Union Cabinet, serving important portfolios including Defence and Agriculture.

While the second generation after Govindrao and Shardabai Pawar largely stuck together, it is with the emergence of the third generation of the family that there have been increasing signs of dissension in the clan.

Like the rest of the Pawar family, Ajit, the son of Sharad’s elder brother Anantrao, rose in politics through the cooperative sector. By Pawar’s side since 1991-92, he had fancied himself as heir apparent, after Sharad broke away from the Congress to form the NCP.

But Sharad’s daughter Supriya Sule’s entry into politics in the 2009 parliamentary elections led to speculation about unease within the NCP first family.

Another irritant for the Ajit camp was the entry of Sharad’s grandnephew Rohit Pawar into politics. Rohit contested and won the 2019 Assembly elections from Karjat Jamkhed.

Weeks before the 2019 Assembly elections, Ajit had broken down in public over the Enforcement Directorate naming him and Sharad in a money laundering case, claiming he was hurt, resigning as MLA and going incommunicado.

Sharad Pawar’s decision to step back from contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was said to have stemmed from Ajit’s insistence on fielding his son, Parth, from Maval. Parth’s loss is believed to have added to the bad blood.

In 2019 Ajit Pawar finally drew the courage to break away from his uncle to form a short-lived government with the BJP. While Sharad Pawar managed to outwit his nephew and was instrumental in bringing him back to form the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, his recent decision, announcing his retirement has once again thrown spotlight on the NCP and the Pawar clan.