CM, MP, BCCI Chief To Oppn Leader Desperate To Return To Power: Many Faces Of Sharad Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar stepped down as the party president's post on Tuesday. He announced his resignation at his book publication event.

Former NCP chief Sharad Pawar resigns from the party president's post on Tuesday

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday announced his resignation from the post of the party's president. The veteran leader has many accolades under his belt making him an unforgettable face in Indian politics. (Image Source: Getty)

At the mere age of 27, Pawar was elected as an MLA for the first time in 1967 from the Baramati constituency under the mentorship of Congress leader Yashwantrao Chavan. After being reelected to the assembly in 1972, he served in a number of ministry posts in the state government over the next several years. (Image Source: Getty)

Ahead of the 1978 Maharashtra assembly elections, he called it quits with the Congress Party and helped form the Indian National Congress (Socialist), or Congress (S) Party. He formed a coalition with the Janata Party and became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra at the mere age of 38. He served as the Chief Minister of the state for three more terms (Non-consecutive). (Image Source: Getty)

He became the party chief in 1981, and since then he never looked back. In 1984, he became an MP but resigned the next year to become the leader of the Opposition in the house. In 1986, he merged Congress (S) and Congress (I) which was led by Indira Gandhi. The reason behind this was cited as saving the Congress culture in Maharashtra. (Image Source: Getty)

In 1999, he formed the Nationalist Congress Party with P.A. Sangma. Despite being expelled from Congress for challenging Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he still maintained his coalition with Congress and later joined the UPA government in 2004. (Image Source: Getty)

Apart from his political career, Pawar served as the Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2005 to 2008 and as the president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2010 to 2012. He was the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association from October 2013 to January 2017. In 2017, the Indian government conferred upon him Padma Vibhushan,the second-highest civilian honour of India. (Image Source: Getty)

Ahead of the 2019 Maharashtra by-elections (owing to Udayanraje Bhosale’s resignation), Pawar gave a historic speech in Satara. When heavy showers lashed Satara, Pawar roared from the dais refusing to take an umbrella saying that a leader must not cover himself when his party workers are fighting rain. This speech turned out to be the game changer in the by-elections as Pawar significantly ate into the vote share of BJP and Congress. The NCP chief has had many faces throughout his political career but overall it can be said that he has ruled the game. (Image Source: Twitter/@PawarSpeaks)