Ajit Pawar Age, Caste, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Ajit Anantrao Pawar
Other Name	Ajit Ashatai Anantrao Pawar [1]The Indian Express
Nickname	Dada [2]NDTV
Profession	Politician
Famous For	Being the nephew of Sharad Pawar
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 175 cm in meters- 1.75 m in feet & inches- 5’ 9”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Politics
Political Party	Nationalist Congress Party
Political Journey	1982: Elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory in Pune 1991: Elected chairman of the Pune District Co-operative Bank (PDC)- remained in the post for 16 years 1991: Elected to the Lok Sabha from the Baramati Constituency (later vacated his seat in favour of his uncle, Sharad Pawar); the same year, elected as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Baramati and was re-elected from the same constituency in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014 1991-92: Minister of State for Agriculture and Power (June 1991-November 1992) in Sudhakarrao Naik's government 1992-93: Minister of state for Soil Conservation, Power and Planning (November 1992-February 1993) in Sharad Pawar's government 1999-2003: Cabinet Minister in the Irrigation Department (October 1999-December 2003) in Vilasrao Deshmukh's government 2003-04: Additional charge of the Rural Development Department (December 2003-October 2004) in Sushilkumar Shinde's government 2004: Held the Water Resources Ministry in Deshmukh's government and later in Ashok Chavan's government. He also became the Guardian Minister for Pune district in 2004 and held the post until the Congress - NCP coalition lost power in 2014 2019: Became the 9th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 23 November; however, tendered his resignation on 26 November 2019 2019: On 30 December, he was sworn in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government; he became the Deputy Chief Minister for the fourth time. 2022: He became the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. 2023: He became the Deputy Chief Minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde; he became the Deputy Chief Minister for the fifth time. [3]NDTV On 14 July 2023, he got Finance and Planning department in Maharashtra cabinet expansion. [4]The Indian Express
Personal Life
Date of Birth	22 July 1959 (Wednesday)
Age (as of 2024)	65 Years
Birthplace	Deolali Pravara, Bombay State, India
Zodiac sign	Cancer
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Baramati, Pune, Maharashtra
School	Maharashtra Education Society High School Baramati
College/University	College-drop-out
Educational Qualification	He holds the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) from the Maharashtra State Board [5]Wikipedia
Religion	Hinduism
Ethnicity	Maratha [6]Wikipedia
Caste	OBC [7]The Gazette of India Note: According to the Gazette of India those who have surnames like 'Powar' or 'Pawar' but don't belong to this community, should not be included in the aforementioned community.
Address	Katewadi, Baramati, Pune -413102
Controversies	• In August 2002, as the Minister for Water Resources, he faced allegations for leasing 141.15 ha (348.8 acres) of land from Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) to Lavasa, a project touted as a "vision of Sharad Pawar." Reportedly, the lease between MKVDC and Lavasa was executed at rates far below the market rate. [8]DownToEarth • In September 2012, his name appeared in a multi-crore scam amounting to Rs. 70,000 Crores. These allegations were made by Vijay Pandhare, a former Maharashtra bureaucrat; following, which Ajit Pawar had to resign from the post of the Deputy CM; however, he was reinstated as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra after getting a clean chit. [9]Business Standard • In April 2013, when Maharashtra was suffering from a drought crisis, he made a controversial statement at a function at Indapur near Pune- "If there is no water in the dam, should we urinate into it?" Later, he termed this statement as the biggest mistake of his life. [10]Time of India • On 16 April 2014, while campaigning for his cousin Supriya Sule, who was contesting the general election, in a village named Masalwadi in the Baramati constituency, Ajit Pawar threatened the villagers that if they did not vote for Sule, he would punish them by cutting off the water supply to the village. [11]Times of India • In October 2021, the Income Tax Department conducted multiple raids on businesses and properties belonging to Mr. Pawar’s relatives and aides following which the department provisionally attached assets worth Rs. 1,000 crore, including a sugar factory, a residential property in South Delhi, an office in Mumbai’s upmarket area (believed to be Nirmal Tower in Nariman Point), a resort in Goa, and land in different parts of the State, allegedly linked to Pawar. Reportedly, the department seized the properties under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988. [12]The Hindu • In October 2023, Ajit Pawar was accused of auctioning off a 3 acres of police land in Yerawada, Pune, in 2010. The former Pune police commissioner Meeran Borwankar made these allegations in her memoir ‘Madam Commissioner: The Extraordinary Life of an Indian Police Chief.’ In the book, she did not directly name Ajit but referred to him as ‘Dada’ and ‘district minister’ as he served as the Pune District Guardian Minister in 2010. Ajit Pawar, however, later refuted these claims. [13]India Today
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Sunetra Pawar (sister of the former minister of Maharashtra Padamsinh Patil)
Children	Son(s)- Jay Pawar (Entrepreneur) and Parth Pawar (Politician; contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Maval constituency and lost to Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne by a huge margin of 2,15,913 votes) Daughter- None
Parents	Father- Anantrao Pawar (worked for renowned film maker, V. Shantaram's "Rajkamal Studios" in Bombay) Mother- Name Not Known
Grand-Parents	Grandfather- Govind Pawar Grandmother- Sharda Pawar
Siblings	Brother- Shrinivas Sister- Late Vijaya Patil (Media Person); died on 22 January 2017
Family Tree
Style Quotient
Car Collection	• Honda Acord (Mh 12 E 0009) • Trailer (MH 12 BB 5020) • Trailer (MH 12 AH 866) • Trailer (MH 12 BB 5930) • Trailer (MH 42 F 7999) • Tractor New Holland (MH 42 Q 3099) • Tractor New Holland (MH 42 Q 42)
Assets/Properties	Movable • Bank Deposits: Rs. 1.9 Crores • Bonds/Shares: Rs. 47.17 Lakh • Jewellery: Rs. 49.63 Lakh Immovable • Agricultural Land: Rs. 2.71 Crores • Non-Agricultural Land: Rs. 2.89 Crores • Commercial Buildings: Rs. 6.96 Crores • Residential Buildings: Rs. 10.85 Crores
Money Factor
Salary (as an MLA of Maharashtra)	Rs. 1.50 Lakh + Other Allowances [14]Indian Express
Net Worth (approx.)	Rs. 38.83 Crores (as in 2014) [15]My Neta

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ajit Pawar

• Ajit Pawar is an Indian politician from Maharashtra and the nephew of the veteran politician, Sharad Pawar.

• Ajit Pawar was born into a powerful political family at his grandfather’s place in Deolali Pravara.

• While he was pursuing his primary schooling, at Deolali Pravara, his uncle, Sharad Pawar had become a renowned political figure in the ruling Congress party in Maharashtra.

• After his schooling in Deolali, he was sent to Bombay (now, Mumbai) to pursue his graduation; however, after the demise of his father, he left college and started looking after his family. 

• Ajit Pawar entered into active politics in 1982 when he was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory in Pune.

• In 1991, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Baramati constituency for the first time; however, when his uncle, Sharad Pawar, became the Defence Minister in P. V. Narasimha Rao’s government, Ajit Pawar vacated his Lok Sabha seat in favour of Sharad Pawar.

• In the same year, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Baramati for the first time and went on to be re-elected from the same constituency in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.

• In his political career, so far, he has handled numerous portfolios, including agriculture, irrigation, power, and finance. 

• Ajit Pawar is popularly known as ‘Dada’ (elder brother) by his followers and close ones; mostly among the NCP youth wing.
  

  A Hoarding of Ajit Pawar

• He is so popular among his followers that they often recite the choruses of ‘Ekach Dada Ajit Dada.’ 

• The Pune-Pimpri-Chinchwad belt is considered to be Ajit’s stronghold, and he has many contacts with the builder community in this region.

• Sources close to him often quote that Ajit Pawar has no interest in art and culture, films and technology, except a liking for expensive watches and pens. ^[16]Outlook

• Ajit Pawar is a staunch Marathi speaker and is extremely uncomfortable in any other language.

• Ajit Pawar is considered such a private person that he doesn’t attend events or parties and even his wife Sunetra and two sons are never seen at his campaign rallies. He is, however, known for his punctuality and decisiveness.

• His close associates claim that he can cut people down to the point of humiliating them publicly, regardless of seniority. This has cost him his relationships with senior leaders like Chaggan Bhujbal and Suresh Kalmadi. ^[17]Outlook
  

  Ajit Pawar wishing Sharad Pawar while other senior NCP leaders are looking

• Ajit Power has often attracted controversy with his offbeat statements, like in February 2011, on his working philosophy, he said,
  

  “Nothing can happen in politics unless you are a thug. I am a ruffian.”

  In the same year, on media reporting farmer’s issue, he said,

  You people should be banned…you’ll understand when you are beaten up.”

  In April 2013, he said,

  I have noticed that more children are being born, now that the lights are going off in the night. There is no other work left then.” ^[18]Outlook

  In April 2013, on drought crisis in Maharashtra, he said,

  If there is no water in the dam, should we urinate into it?

• Ajit Pawar, in fact, is considered a strange mix of ambition, arrogance, and aggression. ^[19]Outlook

• According to sources, these statements and a power-hungry attitude of Ajit Pawar have led Senior Pawar to have increasing doubts about Ajit’s ability to take on a larger role. This is apparent in how Pawar has started focusing on his daughter Supriya Sule. ^[20]Outlook
  

  Ajit Pawar (extreme left), Supriya Sule (standing) and Sharad Pawar (extreme right)

• In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, he won by 1,66,000 votes, the highest in the state. However, when the state witnessed a hung assembly, in a dramatic turn, Ajit Pawar aligned with the BJP and took the oath of the Deputy Chief Minister on 23 November 2019. Ajit Pawar apparently attached the attendance sheet of 54 NCP legislators to his covering letter and handed it to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

• Reportedly, he wanted to split the NCP and had been planning his move since the Lok Sabha elections held in May 2019; as in the elections, his son, Parth had tasted defeat; a first in the Pawar Family.

• On 13 March 2024, he mentioned his mother’s name on his official nameplate that read ‘Ajit Ashatai Anantrao Pawar,’ mentioning his mother’s name before that of his father’s name. This was based on a Maharashtra cabinet’s decision that made it mandatory for all children born on or after 1 May 2024 to include the name of their mother in all government documents. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also changed their nameplates. ^[21]The Indian Express
  

  Eknath Shinde (right), Devendra Fadnavis (centre), and Ajit Pawar (left) showing their new nameplates