Sharadchandra Pawar is an Indian politician. He has served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for four terms and has also served in the Union Council Of Ministers as the Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of P.V Narsimha Rao and Minister of Agriculture in the Cabinet of Manmohan Singh. He is the first and former president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress. His NCP was split by his own nephew, Ajit Pawar. He leads the his faction NCP delegation in the Rajya Sabha, the upper chamber of the Indian parliament. He is the chairperson of Maha Vikas Aghadi, a regional Maharashtra-based political alliance.
The Nationalist Congress Party is one of the state parties in India. It refers to the Ajit Pawar faction after the 2023 split in the party when the Supreme Court of India granted the original party name and symbol to the Nationalist Congress Party. It was one of the major political parties in Maharashtra and was a recognised state party in Nagaland and Kerala. In July 2023, majority of the elected MLAs and MLCs of the party led by Ajit Pawar joined the National Democratic Alliance government, however, all MPs except two remained loyal to Sharad Pawar. This caused a direct split between the Ajit Pawar-led faction and the founder and president Sharad Pawar who formed the Nationalist Congress Party after EC recognised the Ajit Pawar faction as the original party.
Sudhakarrao Rajusing Naik was an Indian politician from Indian National Congress party who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 25 June 1991 until 22 February 1993 following the communal riots. He had given the new shape to the Panchayat Raj, started the continuous election process in Panchayat Raj systems all over the state, as desired by the former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi, decentralisation of power and faster decision making process being motive of bringing back the Panchayat Raj in full-fledged functioning. He is called as the hero of Jalkranti, who started the irrigation revolution in the State of Maharashtra.
Ajit Anantrao Pawar is an Indian politician who is currently serving, alongside Devendra Fadnavis, 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.
Ganesh Ramchandra Naik is an Indian politician. He is the Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 150-Airoli Assembly constituency. He represented Thane constituency in the past, and was the Thane Guardian Minister in the state government. He was the minister of Labour, Excise and Environment in the previous government.
Maharashtra is India's third largest state by area and has over 112 million inhabitants. Its capital, Mumbai, has a population of approximately 18 million; Nagpur is Maharashtra's second, or winter, capital. Government in the state is organized on the parliamentary system. Power is devolved to large city councils, district councils, subdistrict (taluka) councils, and village parish councils. The numerically strong Maratha–Kunbi community dominates the state's politics. The state has national and regional parties serving different demographics, such as those based on religion, caste, and urban and rural residents.
Anil Vasantrao Deshmukh is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party. Deshmukh served as the Minister for Home Affairs in Government of Maharashtra between 2019 and 2021. Deshmukh resigned in 2021 as the Home Minister of Maharashtra due to allegations of extortion and laundering charges and is currently in judicial custody.
Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis is an Indian politician who is serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 30 June 2022 alongside Ajit Pawar who was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the 5th time on 2 July 2023. He also served as the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 31 October 2014 to 12 November 2019, Leader of the Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 2019 to 2022 and the President of BJP, Maharashtra state unit from 2013 to 2015. Having been sworn in at the age of 44, he is the second-youngest Chief Minister in Maharashtra's history after Sharad Pawar. He served a 5-day long second term as Chief Minister during the 2019 Maharashtra political crisis, before resigning on 28 November 2019. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Fadnavis has represented the Nagpur South West constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly since 2009 and Nagpur West from 1999 to 2009. He was also Mayor of Nagpur from 1997 to 2001.
Although a parliamentary democracy, Indian politics has increasingly become dynastic, possibly due to the absence of a party organization, independent civil society associations that mobilize support for the party, and centralized financing of elections. Family members have also led the Congress party for most of the period since 1978 when Indira Gandhi floated the then Congress(I) faction of the party. It also is fairly common in many political parties in Maharashtra. The dynastic phenomenon is seen from national level down to district level and even village level.The three-tier structure of Panchayati Raj established in the 1960s also helped to create and consolidate the dynastic phenomenon in rural areas. Apart from government,political families also control cooperative institutions, mainly cooperative sugar factories,district cooperative banks in the state, and since the 1980s private for profit colleges. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party also features several senior leaders who are dynasts. In Maharashtra, the NCP has particularly high level of dynasticism.
Prithviraj Chavan was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on November 11, 2010. The following is his cabinet. The government consisted of Chavan's Congress party and the Nationalist Congress Party.
Sharad Pawar was sworn in as Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the fourth time on 6 March 1993. On appointment, Pawar formed a 18-member cabinet. The cabinet continued until the 1995 legislative elections, and was replaced by the Manohar Joshi ministry.
After securing a majority in the 1990 Maharashtra legislative elections, the incumbent Chief Minister Sharad Pawar was re-appointed on 4 March 1990. Pawar formed his third ministry, consisting of 15 cabinet ministers and 6 ministers of state. The cabinet continued until June 1991, when Pawar was replaced by Sudhakarrao Naik.
On resignation of Shankarrao Chavan on 26 June 1988, Sharad Pawar was appointed Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the second time. Pawar formed his second ministry, which continued in office until legislative elections in 1990.
Shankarrao Chavan was sworn in as Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the second time in March 1986, on resignation of his predecessor, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar. Chavan's cabinet served until his resignation on 26 June 1988, and subsequent replacement by Sharad Pawar's ministry.
After the Congress (I) party secured a majority in 1980 Maharashtra legislative elections, A. R. Antulay was appointed Chief Minister. Antulay's administration continued until January 1982, when he resigned amidst corruption allegations. Till date, Antulay remains the state's only Muslim chief minister.
After securing a majority in the 1985 Maharashtra legislative elections, the incumbent Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil was re-appointed on 10 March 1985. Patil formed his fourth and last ministry, consisting of 7 cabinet ministers besides him. The cabinet continued for about 3 months, as Patil resigned and was replaced by Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar in June 1985.
After the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, post-poll alliance was formed in between Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Indian National Congress to form Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Uddhav Thackeray, the president of Shiv Sena was sworn in as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 28 November 2019. Following is the list of ministers from the cabinet of Uddhav Thackeray starting from November 2019.
In the aftermath of 1978 Maharashtra legislative elections, Vasantdada Patil of the Indian National Congress(U) was appointed Chief Minister. A coalition government, it consisted of members from Congress(Urs) and Congress (I), including Deputy Chief Minister Nashikrao Tirpude.
Shankarrao Chavan was appointed as Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the first time on 21 February 1975, replacing Vasantrao Naik. His first ministry lasted till 16 April 1977, and was succeeded by Vasantdada Patil's ministry.
Following 1972 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election, incumbent chief minister Vasantrao Naik was re-appointed, and he formed his third government on 14 March 1972. This was to be Naik's last government which served until 20 February 1975.
