Sharad Pawar

Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar (born 12 December 1940) is an Indian politician who has served as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha since 2014. Prior to 2014 he served as a member of Lok Sabha, as a member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He has served four terms as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra including (1990–1991): Following the 1990 assembly elections, he continued his leadership as Chief Minister, and held cabinet positions in the Union Council of Ministers, including the Minister of Defence under P. V. Narasimha Rao government and the Minister of Agriculture under Manmohan Singh government. In 1999, he founded the NCP following a split from the Indian National Congress. In July 2023, following a split within the NCP, he now leads the Sharadchandra Pawar faction. Pawar has been involved in several coalition governments and political alliances in Maharashtra.

Born in Baramati, Maharashtra, Sharadchandra is the patriarch of the Pawar family, which includes several political figures, including his daughter Supriya Sule, nephew Ajit Pawar (former Deputy CM of Maharashtra), and grandnephew Rohit Rajendra Pawar.

Pawar served as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2005 to 2008 and of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2010 to 2012. He also headed the Mumbai Cricket Association from October 2013 to January 2017. He received the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour, in 2017.