Sharad Pawar

Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar (pronunciation: [ʃəɾəd̪ pəʋaːɾ], born 12 December 1940) is an Indian politician. Pawar served four terms as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and held cabinet positions in the Union Council of Ministers, including the Minister of Defence under P. V. Narasimha Rao and Minister of Agriculture under Manmohan Singh. He founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999, following a split from the Indian National Congress, the split occurred because they questioned Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin and argued that India’s Prime Minister should be a natural-born citizen. This ideological conflict led to the creation of a new party for which he has served as its President since its inception. Pawar leads his faction of the NCP in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament. He is the Chairperson of Maha Vikas Aghadi, a regional Maharashtra-based political alliance. He is also recognized as the Chanakya of Indian Politics.

Born in Baramati, Maharashtra, Pawar is the patriarch of the Pawar political family that includes his daughter Supriya Sule, nephew Ajit Pawar, 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.

In 2017, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honor. Provided by Wikipedia