Ajit Pawar: 'Forever dy CM' ultimate survivor in Maharashtra politics

Defying predictions of his political eclipse, NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the BJP-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra, but also fortified his place in state politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.

Ajit Pawar has now firmly come out of the shadow of his formidable uncle Sharad Pawar, more than a year after he rebelled against the NCP founder.

He took oath as a deputy CM in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government at a grand ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday evening. A multiple-time deputy CM under different governments, the 65-year-old Pawar has not concealed his chief ministerial ambitions, but that dream has still remained unfulfilled.

His detractors may mock him as a 'forever deputy chief minister', but at the end of the churn in Maharashtra politics post-2019, which saw the Shiv Sena and NCP splitting and foes becoming friends, he proved to be the ultimate survivor.

Doubts were raised over his political acumen when he fielded his wife Sunetra Pawar against his cousin Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, from Baramati in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

Sunetra lost the election and Ajit Pawar later regretted fielding her against his cousin. However, he not only retained grip over the Baramati assembly segment, the family bastion, in the ensuing state elections despite Sharad Pawar campaigning aggressively against him, but also cemented his place in state politics.

Ajit Pawar's party won 41 seats out of the 59 it contested in the 20 November polls to the 288-member state assembly. This was in complete contrast to the NCP's poor show in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in which the party got only one seat out of the four it contested in the state.

Ajit Pawar defeated his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar from Baramati by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes. The NCP head has been the deputy CM thrice since 2019. He also served in the post twice in the Congress-NCP regimes before 2014.

Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy CM in an early-morning ceremony with Fadnavis as chief minister on 23 November 2019, only to resign three days later, leading to the collapse of the government.

He later became deputy CM in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Uddhav Thackeray. Last year, he joined the then Eknath Shinde-BJP government in the state, becoming deputy CM again and causing a split in the NCP founded by his uncle.

Ajit Pawar is the son of Sharad Pawar's elder brother Anantrao Pawar, who passed away when Ajit was 18. He followed in Sharad Pawar's footsteps into politics in 1982 when he was elected to the board of a sugar cooperative. In 1991, he was elected chairman of the Pune District Cooperative Bank, a position he held for 16 years.

Ajit Pawar's first electoral foray was also in 1991, when he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Baramati. But he vacated the seat after Sharad Pawar became defence minister in the Narasimha Rao government and needed to enter Parliament.

Ajit was elected as MLA from Baramati the same year and since then has been representing the seat. The NCP chief has held several portfolios, including irrigation, water resources and finance. He is also a trustee of the Vidya Pratisthan, Baramati, an educational institution founded by Sharad Pawar. He was also chairman of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank till 1999 and the Pune District Cooperative Bank till December 1998.

He has also served as director of the state milk federation and State Kho Kho Association. Ajit Pawar is currently president of the Maharashtra Olympic Association and the state Kabaddi Association.

Before becoming a second deputy chief minister last year (along with Fadnavis), he was leader of opposition in the state assembly and had voiced his desire to head the state NCP unit. After a few days, he along with several other senior NCP leaders joined the Eknath Shinde government, parting ways with uncle Sharad Pawar.

Based on legislative strength, the faction led by Ajit Pawar was given the NCP name and its 'clock' symbol, a massive setback for the Sharad Pawar group.

His move to field his wife against cousin Sule in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat had made his younger brother Shrinivas and his family stand by Sharad Pawar. Later, Ajit Pawar said it was a mistake to field his wife against Sule.