Supriya Sule (née Pawar; born 30 June 1969) is an Indian politician from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and currently a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha representing Baramati since 2009, leader of Nationalist Congress Party (SP) in Lok Sabha since 2014 and the Working National President of Nationalist Congress Party since 2023.
Supriya Sule | |
|---|---|
 Sule in 2014 | |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 16 May 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Sharad Pawar |
| Constituency | Baramati, Maharashtra |
| Leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) in Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 7 February 2024 | |
| National President | Sharad Pawar |
| LS Speaker | Om Birla |
| Preceded by | office established |
| National Working President of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) | |
| Assumed office 1 June 2024 | |
| National President | Sharad Pawar |
| Incharge of States | |
| Department | Lok Sabha (Election Head) |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 18 September 2006 – 31 May 2009 | |
| Constituency | Maharashtra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Supriya Pawar 30 June 1969 Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Political party | Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) (2024–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Nationalist Congress Party (2009–2024) |
| Spouse |
Sadanand Sule (m. 1991) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
|
| Residence | |
| Alma mater | Jai Hind College, Mumbai |
| Occupation |
|
Previously, she served as the Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra from 2006 to 2009. In 2011, she launched a state-wide campaign against female foeticide.[1] Recently, she has been honored with Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award by All Ladies League for social service.
Early life
editSule was born to Indian politician and Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar and his wife Pratibha Pawar on 30 June 1969 in Pune. She passed her SSC from St.Columba School, Gamdevi. She was educated at Jai Hind College in Mumbai, achieving a B.Sc. degree in microbiology.
Political career
editSule was elected to the Rajya Sabha in the September 2006 intake from Maharashtra[2] and is a trustee of the Nehru Centre in Mumbai.
In 2012, under the leadership of Sule, the wing named Rashtravadi Yuvati Congress was formed to give platform to young girls in politics. For past several months, several rallies have been organised all over Maharashtra which focused on female fetus abortion, dowry system and women empowerment in general.[3]
Sule is known for her parliamentary engagement as a member of the Lok Sabha, with her emerging as one of the Best Performers In Lok Sabha on multiple occasions.[4]
Criminal Charges
editIn November 2024, Supriya Sule, NCP(SP) leader, and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole were accused of misappropriating bitcoins from a 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case to fund election campaigns for the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections.[5]
The allegations, made by IPS officer Ravindranath Patil, claimed that bitcoins seized during a Pune Police investigation into a multi-crore cryptocurrency ponzi scheme were illegally sold, with proceeds funneled into the elections via hawala channels. Patil, who had been involved as a forensic auditor in the original 2018 investigation, alleged that a seized cryptocurrency hardware wallet had been swapped, and funds were misappropriated under the instructions of senior officials, including former Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta.[6]
Audio clips, documents and evidence of fraudulent bitcoin transactions were circulated by the Enforcement Directorate. The Enforcement Directorate also conducted searches related to the case, and the Central Bureau of Investigation summoned individuals allegedly involved.[7]
Sule and Pawar also face a CBI probe over obtaining illegal permissions for the construction of a private hill station at Lavasa in Pune.[8]
Involvement with IPL Irregularities
editIn June 2010, Sule denied allegations of involvement in the Indian Premier League (IPL), when reports on IPL irregularities in its ownership and functioning surfaced and led to Shashi Tharoor, India's Minister of State for External Affairs to resign.[9][10] However, there were reports that her husband owned (via a power of attorney from his father) 10% of a firm that had exclusive multi-year broadcasting rights for IPL matches.[11][12][13][14]
In June 2010, The Economic Times, India's largest business newspaper, reported that Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule owned 16.22 percent of a firm that had bid for the Pune franchise of IPL. She had previously stated, "I say with full conviction that my husband or my family has nothing to do with these issues (the IPL bids) ... We always stay miles away from it. Yes, we are avid cricket watchers, my husband, my kids, my family, all, and that's where the buck stops." When challenged on this, she said she was just a minority shareholder and cannot be responsible for the firm's actions.[15]
Personal life
editShe married Sadanand Bhalchandra Sule on 4 March 1991. They have one son - Vijay and one daughter - Revati.[16] After marriage, she spent some time in California, where she studied water pollution at UC Berkeley. Subsequently, she moved to Indonesia and Singapore and then returned to Mumbai.[17]
Electoral performance
edit| Election | Year | Party | Constituency | Opponent | Result | Margin | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loksabha | 2009 | NCP | Baramati | BJP | Kanta Nalawade | Won | 3,36,831 | ||
| 2014 | NCP | RSPS | Mahadev Jankar | Won | 69,719 | ||||
| 2019 | NCP | BJP | Kanchan Rahul Kul | Won | 1,55,774 | ||||
| 2024[18] | NCP-SP | NCP | Sunetra Ajit Pawar | Won | 1,58,333 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Supriya Sule to launch statewide campaign against female foeticide". Daily Bhaskar. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
- ^ "Rajya Sabha members". Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
- ^ "Young, female and a march ahead - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ "MP Supriya Sule Emerges As Best Performer In Lok Sabha Second Time - SheThePeople TV". Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ "A 2018 bitcoin fraud rocks Maharashtra polls; Supriya Sule, Nana Patole complain to Election Commission". The Indian Express. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Maharashtra Bitcoin row: Here is everything you need to know of 'scam' allegation against Supriya Sule, Nana Patole". The Economic Times. 20 November 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "How did Supriya Sule, Nana Patole get dragged into India's biggest crypto scam?". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Sharad Pawar Moves Bombay High Court in PIL Seeking CBI Probe Against Him Over Alleged Illegal Construction in Lavasa". LawBeat. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Supriya Sule: My family has no IPL links". Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ "Kochi IPL row: Shashi Tharoor resigns, PM accepts". The Times of India. 19 April 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011.
- ^ "Pawar's son-in-law holds 10% in MSM". The Times Of India. 22 April 2010. Archived from the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ "Pawar's daughter fights IPL allegations". NDTV.com. NDTV. 22 April 2010.
- ^ "My family has no connection with IPL: Supriya Sule". Hindustan Times. 20 April 2010.
- ^ "We have nothing to do with any IPL bid, says Supriya Sule". PTI. India Today. 4 June 2010.
- ^ "Pawar Family holds 16 in IPL bidder". Economic Times - India Times. 4 June 2010.
- ^ "Supriya Sule - Biography". Archived from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
- ^ Jog, Sanjay (11 June 2010). "Business Standard". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
- ^ The Economic Times (6 June 2024). "Bullish Wins & Bearish Losses: Here are the key contests and results of 2024 Lok Sabha polls". Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
