Battle-scarred, not battle-fatigued: Sharad Pawar still matters in politics

Pawar, who at 30 became the youngest chief minister of Maharashtra in 1978, will have to do a lot of heavy-lifting in the Assembly polls in the state

“Only one leader knows the nitty-gritty of the politics of Maharashtra. And that is Sharad Pawar. He knows who the candidates of not only the Congress but all the opponents in the Assembly polls could be, and can plan his strategy likewise” — this is what the late Pramod Mahajan, a BJP leader who became a Union minister in the Vajpayee government, said more than 30 years ago.
 
However, the times have changed. Pawar, who at 30 became the youngest chief minister of Maharashtra in 1978, will have to do a lot of heavy-lifting in the Assembly polls in