Ajit Pawar
Ajit Anantrao Pawar (born 22 July 1959) is an Indian politician who alongside Devendra Fadnavis is serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2 July 2023. He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 2022 to 2023, and was a Member of the Parliament in the Lok Sabha in 1991, representing Baramati constituency. He has also been a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly since 1991, representing Baramati constituency. He is the nephew of Sharad Pawar, the president of the Nationalist Congress Party and a four-time former Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He has been Deputy Chief Minister of the state the most number of times and is currently serving his 5th term. He has also been a Cabinet Minister in the Maharashtra government thrice: from 2004–2008, 2008–2009, and 2009–2010. In 2019, he joined a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and became the Deputy Chief Minister; he claimed to have the support of a majority of the NCP's MLA's, but resigned from his post, alongside then-CM Devendra Fadnavis. In 2023, he led another split in the NCP and became the Deputy Chief Minister in the cabinet of CM Eknath Shinde. Having the support of the majority of the erstwhile NCP's MLAs, he also claimed the position of president of the NCP, as well as the party's name and its electoral symbol. Early life 
Ajit Pawar was born on 22 July 1959, in Deolali Pravara, Ahmednagar district. He had to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of his family at a young age, and it was at this time, he was first exposed to the social issues around him. As he understood the plight of farmers, the seeds of empathy for their cause were sown in his mind. The journey of his dynamic leadership that began and continued with different institutions such as milk unions, various cooperative societies, sugar factories, and banks took a new direction in 1991. Since then, he has graced many more positions such as MP, MLA, Minister of State for various critical government departments, and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra four times. Whether or not he is in power, Shri Ajit Pawar is always in touch with the people through his Janata Darbars. There is no discrimination between party workers and the public. He is always insistent on increasing the speed of administrative functioning. Ajit Dada is famed for his straightforward approach and frankness, ‘yes, only if the work can be completed, otherwise no.’

Shri Ajit Pawar is a shining presence on the political horizon of Maharashtra, someone who dedicates 16–17 hours every day to serve the people of Maharashtra and help them solve their problems. His astounding and clear vision of development has influenced Maharashtra’s political and social life over the last three decades. Famed for his punctuality in the political scenario of Maharashtra, he is the sculptor of Nava Maharashtra. Political career
Ajit Pawar made his first foray into politics in 1982, when he was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory. He was elected the chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank in 1991, remaining in the post for the next 16 years. During this period, he was also elected to the Lok Sabha, representing the Baramati Parliamentary constituency. He later vacated his Lok Sabha seat for his uncle, who had become the Defence Minister in Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's government. Later, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the Baramati Assembly constituency. Pawar was re-elected from the same constituency in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014. He served as the Minister of State for Agriculture and Power in CM Sudhakarrao Naik's government from 1991 to 1992. He became the Minister of State for Soil Conservation, Power and Planning in 1992 when Sharad Pawar became the Chief Minister. In 1999, as part of the INC-NCP coalition government, he became a Cabinet Minister responsible for the Irrigation Department. He was additionally given the Rural Development Department in 2003 as part of Sushilkumar Shinde's cabinet. After the INC-NCP coalition won in the 2004 Assembly elections, he retained the Water Resources Ministry in Deshmukh's and later Ashok Chavan's cabinets. Leader with a passion for the development of Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar's dynamic leadership and relentless pursuit of excellence have undeniably transformed Pimpri-Chinchwad into a city of unparalleled growth, innovation, and progress. His legacy is etched in every corner, every street, and every heart of this vibrant city

On 23 November 2019, Pawar defected from the NCP and was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He submitted a paper with the signatures of NCP's MLAs to the Governor to prove the government's majority; however, the government collapsed less than 80 hours later, resigning along with then-CM Devendra Fadnavis. He subsequently returned to the NCP, and on 1 December 2019, it was announced that he would take over as Deputy CM for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government after the start of the winter session of the state legislature on 16 December. In 2022, due to a split in the Shiv Sena, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed. After the rebel Shiv Sena faction and BJP formed a government with Eknath Shinde as CM, Pawar became the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Rebellion against Sharad Pawar

On 2 July 2023, Ajit Pawar split the NCP and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition, being sworn in as Deputy CM for the fourth time. His actions were believed to have been caused by his passion for the development of Maharashtra, he believes that Maharashtra will prosper with support from the centre in the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. “Today, at the national level, I do not see any other alternative to Narendra Modi’s leadership. Hence, I have taken this decision [to align with the ruling government] to get works done at the local and State level. Some may criticise me for it, but I am not affected,” Mr. Pawar said, speaking in Pune. He claimed to have the support of the majority of NCP's MLAs, and later the presidency of the NCP. He also said that his faction now represented the "real" NCP, and laid claim to the NCP's name and electoral symbol. In his faction's first assembly after the split, Ajit criticized his uncle, calling him biased towards the latter's daughter, Supriya Sule. He also said that his uncle had insulted him, accused his uncle of hypocrisy, and urged him to retire from politics. Controversies

There are allegations that, as the minister for water resources, he spared no efforts to help in the development of Lavasa, a project touted as a "vision of Sharad Pawar". The Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) leased  to Lavasa in August 2002, which included part of the Warasgaon dam reservoir. The lease between MKVDC and Lavasa was executed at rates far below the market rate. He told the Indian Election Commission in 2004 that he had financial assets of more than 3 crore Rupees at that time. In September 2012, there were accusations that there had been misappropriation 70,000 crores. These allegations were made by the Maharashtrian bureaucrat Vijay Pandhare, and caused the anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania to demand Pawar's resignation as a minister. However, the allegations were not proven, and Ajit was reinstated as the Deputy CM of Maharashtra. On 7 April 2013, Pawar's statement at a speech in Indapur sparked controversy due to its alleged callousness. In response to a 55-day fast by activists protesting the Maharashtra governments inability to provide water during a drought, he asked whether he should "urinate into [the dam]" to make up for the lack of water in it. After a public outcry against his statement, he publicly apologized, saying that the comment was the "biggest mistake of [his] life". 