Legacy and rifts: Short history of the who’s who of the Pawar family

The impending entry of Sunetra Pawar into the Rajya Sabha has added yet another Pawar name to the pantheon of dynastic politicians from Maharashtra. With family patriarch Sharad Pawar already a Rajya Sabha member, his daughter Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha, and his nephew Ajit and grandnephew Rohit in the Maharashtra Assembly, Sunetra is set to become the fifth Pawar to hold public office.

Sunetra’s move to the Rajya Sabha, following her defeat in the Lok Sabha contest in the family stronghold of Baramati, indicates the heft of the Pawar family in Maharashtra politics despite the split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The 11 children of Govindrao and Shardabai Pawar — seven sons and four daughters, with Pawar being the eighth child — have cumulatively had a profound impact on the socioeconomic and political landscape of Maharashtra. While the 82-year-old Pawar, an MP, former Chief Minister and ex-Union Minister, is the most dominant and well-known name from the Pawar clan, his 10 siblings made names for themselves in their respective fields.

Pawar’s political grounding is said to have been inspired by the activism of Shardabai who was associated with the Peasants and Workers Party and the Congress. In 1938, Shardabai was elected unopposed in the Pune local board elections and was one of the few women politicians in Pune district. Pawar has often referenced his mother, thanking her for instilling in her children a respect for hard work and commitment to public causes.

Sharad’s eldest brother Vasantrao was a noted lawyer in Pune district. He was shot dead over a land dispute. Along with Vasantrao, three of Sharad’s older brothers are deceased. They are Dinkarrao, an agriculturist; Anantrao who is the father of Deputy