At a glance: Sharad Pawar, the Maratha strongman

New Delhi: Sharad Pawar is one of the veterans of Indian politics.Young Pawar with Indira GandhiHe started his career with Congress and remained with the party for the maximum period of his political life.Pawar with daughter Supriya SuleHe left the Congress party on the issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin and formed his own Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar.Pawar's wife PratibhaAfter some time, he once again joined hands with the Congress under UPA banner and is presently serving as Minister of Agriculture in the Congress led UPA government.Pawar with wife PratibhaPresently he represents Madha Lok Sabha constituency of Maharashtra.In the past, he also served as the Defence Minister.Most importantly, he served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for three terms (18 July 1978 – 17 February 1980, 26 June 1988 – 25 June 1991, 6 March 1993 – 14 March 1995)Sharad Chandra Govindrao Pawar belongs to Baramati of Pune and is one of the ten children born to Govindrao Pawar and Shardabai Pawar.Pawar with Sachin Tendulkar and AnjaliSharad Pawar studied at Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC), University of Pune .Pawar with Bal Thackeray and former PM ChandrashekharSharad Pawar was an average student but was interested in politics since his early days.Pawar is married to Pratibha. They have one daughter, Supriya who is married to Sadanand Sule. Supriya currently represents the Baramati constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha.Pawar's nephew, Ajit Pawar is also a prominent politician in his own right and serves as the Deputy Chief Minister of MaharashtraPawar's younger brother, Pratap runs the influential Marathi daily, Sakal.Sharad Pawar has been in controversy throughout his career.In 2002-03, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao made a statement that the state leader of Indian National Congress party and erstwhile Chief Minister Sharad Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on Pappu Kalani", a well known criminal-turned-politician .Shiv Sena Chief, Bal Thackeray, had later concurred with these allegations.Sharad Pawar is also alleged to have close links with an underworld don but this allegation is yet to be fully substantiated.Sharad Pawar is keenly interested in cricket as well.Pawar also served as the Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 2005 to 2008.In 2010, Sharad Pawar became the International Cricket Council (ICC) president.Let's have a look at some of the most interesting pics of Sharad Pawar: