Sharad Pawar quits as NCP Chief: A look back at his influential political journey

From student politics to becoming Maharashtra's chief minister four times, and a decade-long stint as a Union minister, Sharad Pawar has been a master at political moves. On May 2, Pawar made a shocking announcement to quit as president of NCP, the party he founded 24 years ago. This decision has sent shockwaves in the political circles and amongst NCP supporters. Here we look back at Pawar's influential career in Indian politics which stretches over five decades.

Pawar began his political journey in 1958 when he joined Youth Congress. Four years later, he became Pune district Youth Congress president. Credit: www.sharadpawar.com/

Pawar won the Assembly election in 1967 from his home turf Baramati constituency and since then has been a member of either the state legislature or Parliament. Credit: www.sharadpawar.com/

In 1978, Pawar, then 38, became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra. His Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) government was in power for two years. Credit: DH Pool Photo

In 1988, Pawar became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the second time. Credit: PTI Photo

In 1990, he became chief minister of Maharashtra again. Credit: www.sharadpawar.com/

In 1991, Pawar became the Defence Minister in the government headed by Narasimha Rao and handled the portfolio till March 1993, when he became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the fourth time after then-chief minister Sudhakarrao Naik stepped down following riots in Mumbai. Credit: PTI Photo

Pawar remained chief minister until the 1995 assembly elections that saw Shiv Sena-BJP combine coming to power and Manohar Joshi took the post of CM. Credit: PTI Photo

In 1999, Sharad Pawar, along with PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar, were expelled from Congress. The same year, Pawar founded Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). It was not only Sonia Gandhi’s ‘foreign origin’ but instances of his decisions being overruled and the denial of the Congress Parliamentary Party leader post that prompted him to form NCP, Pawar said in his autobiography. Credit: PTI Photo

In 2004, Pawar became agriculture minister in the UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh. He retained the Union cabinet berth after the UPA’s 2009 general elections victory. Credit: PTI Photo

In Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar’s NCP and Congress were in ruling alliance in the state government for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2014. Credit: PTI Photo

In the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections, BJP won 105 seats. The Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP continued negotiations to form an alliance, and Sharad Pawar later announced that Uddhav Thackeray had been unanimously chosen to head the new government. Credit: PTI Photo

The early morning oath-taking ceremony of Fadnavis & Ajit Pawar on November 23 came as a surprise as then Guv Bhagat Singh Koshyari had sworn in Fadnavis as the CM and Ajit as Deputy CM. The ministry lasted 3 days, after which Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister. Pawar, who played a key role in installing Thackeray as CM, has said he will be available for NCP workers not as party chief but as an elder to guide them. However, Pawar remains a member of the Rajya Sabha. Credit: PTI Photo