Sharad Pawar among Maharashtra Rajya Sabha MPs take oath

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan on Monday administered the oath of office to Sharad Pawar, Jyoti Waghmare, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Ramrao Wadkute and Maya Ivnate, who are elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra.

The late Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar, who has been elected to the upper house for the first time, will take oath on April 9, while BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde is likely to take oath as the Rajya Sabha MP on April 10. A total of seven Rajya Sabha MPs have been elected from Maharashtra.

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Due to his ill-health, Sharad Pawar sat on his wheelchair while taking his oath as a Rajya Sabha member, while Jyoti Waghmare of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, was dressed up to resemble the social reformer Savitribai Phule.

NCP founder leader Sharad Pawar who took oath as a Rajya Sabha MP on Monday was announced as its Rajya Sabha candidate by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). His daughter who is Sharad Pawar-led NCP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule tweeted on X that Sharad Pawar has become an MP for the ninth time in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Now that he has taken his oath, Sharad Pawar will remain a Rajya Sabha MP till 2032.

After Sharad Pawar’s nephew’s elder son Parth Pawar takes his oath as Rajya Sabha MP, three members from three generations of the Pawar family will be seen in the Parliament.

“Grateful that respected Pawar Saheb took oath as an MP in the Rajya Sabha today. He completed 59 years of parliamentary career this year and has now entered his 60th year. He has previously represented the state in the Legislative Assembly six times, once in the Legislative Council, seven times in the Lok Sabha and twice in the Rajya Sabha. From this year onwards, he will be in the Rajya Sabha for the third consecutive term,” Supriya Sule tweeted on X.

“This unbeaten journey which began in 1967 continues to this day. I believe that the country will always benefit from his long political and parliamentary experience. Heartiest congratulations to him and best wishes for his future journey,” Supriya Sule tweeted in her X post.

“Along with this, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Baramati, people from all corners of Maharashtra and people across the country who have stood firmly with him throughout this journey and loved him deeply. The support and love you have given to Saheb is a priceless treasure for us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Supriya Sule tweeted in her X post.

Sharad Pawar first won the election as an MLA in 1967. After that, he served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra four times. He has also served as a minister at the centre.
He became the chief minister of Maharashtra in 1978. In 1984, he contested the MP election from Baramati. But in 1985, he again entered the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Baramati till 1990. He became an MLA six times in a row.

After that, he was an MP from Baramati Lok Sabha constituency from 1991 to 2014. He has been a Rajya Sabha MP since 2014. During the last 60 years, Sharad Pawar has been a member of one or the other house from the Legislative Assembly to the Rajya Sabha. The only exceptions were the years 1998 and 1999, when the Lok Sabha was dissolved.