Ajit Pawar: Dada, the elder brother, who never became a 'saheb'

The passing of Ajit Anantrao Pawar, one of Maharashtra’s most influential yet controversial political figures, marks the end of a long and tumultuous political career that spanned more than three decades.

The nephew of Sharad Pawar, a towering figure in Indian politics and founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), he spent almost all his political life under his uncle's shadow. 

Ajit Pawar cut his teeth in politics in cooperative movements — a defining feature of Maratha politics. His father, Anantrao Pawar, died when Ajit was just 18, prompting him to shoulder responsibilities at a young age.

He was elected to the board of a sugar cooperative in 1982, a critical institution in the region’s economic and political landscape.

In 1991, he was elected chairman of the Pune District Cooperative Bank, a post he held for 16 years, further solidifying his base in cooperative politics. That same year, he entered electoral politics by winning a seat in the Lok Sabha from Baramati, one of Maharashtra’s key constituencies — a seat he would retain in various capacities for decades.

Soon, he became an MLA from Baramati, a stronghold he would represent uninterruptedly, winning with significant margins.

Over his career, Pawar served as Deputy CM under multiple administrations and chief ministers, including Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray, and, most recently, under the Eknath Shinde–Devendra Fadnavis government formed in December 2024.

Ajit Pawar became deputy CM more times and more continuously than any of his predecessors.

His portfolios throughout his political life spanned critical areas such as irrigation, agriculture, water resources, rural development, finance, and planning — reflecting his sustained engagement with economic and infrastructural policy in Maharashtra.

However, his politics has always been entrenched in controversies. Opposition leaders, mainly the BJP, have alleged that Ajit Pawar was involved in a ₹70,000-crore irrigation scam linked to projects when he held portfolios in earlier governments. At a BJP party workers' convention, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made specific references to this scam. However, when Pawar split the NCP and joined hands with the NDA, the BJP quietly forgot these allegations. 

The other major corruption allegation raised opposition was that his elder son, Parth Pawar, acquired close to 40 acres of Mahar Vatan land in Pune at a fraction of its market value through an IT company. Mahar Vatan land is reserved for Dalit farmers and cannot be sold freely.

Known popularly as “Dada” (or elder brother) among supporters, Ajit Pawar has sought to build his legacy outside his uncle's shadow. He nearly did that when he engineered a coup d'état to break the National Congress Party, founded by Sharad Pawar on July 2, 2023, and aligned with the NDA. That gave him some respite from the corruption allegation. However, he never became the 'saheb' (or master) of the masses as his uncle is.