Baramati: Ajit Pawar, Baramati’s strongman and master of coalition politics in Maharashtra, leaves behind a legacy that cannot be separated from the state’s political churn and realignments. In a career spanning decades, he emerged as the quintessential “number man” who could convert fractured mandates into workable governments.
Born in Baramati, Ajit Anantrao Pawar, 64, rose from the cooperative sector to become one of Maharashtra’s most influential and astute politicians and the state’s longest‑serving deputy chief minister across multiple terms. He handled important portfolios such as finance, planning, water resources and energy, turning budget-making and resource allocation his key instruments of influence. He built a reputation as a hands‑on administrator who kept a tight grip on the machinery of government.
Pawar’s truly left his mark in Maharashtra’s coalition era where he astutely operated as a pivotal fixer during hung verdicts. He repeatedly helped chisel out arrangements involving the NCP, Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and, subsequently, the Eknath Shinde‑led faction with the BJP, often switching roles between government and opposition without losing relevance.
Pawar converted Baramati – his home turf – into a political fortress, using cooperative institutions, irrigation projects and infrastructure push as handles for development and loyalty alike. He evolved from Sharad Pawar’s nephew into an alternative power centre in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), eventually becoming the national president of the Ajit‑led NCP faction, thereby reshaping the state’s party map.
