Peshwa Bajirao

Bajirao met Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I at Chikhalthan to settle their disputes through agreement. However, the Nizam refused to recognize the Maratha rights to collect taxes from the Deccan provinces.The Nizam was made Vizier of the Mughal Empire in 1722, but alarmed at his growing power, emperor Muhammad Shah transferred him from Deccan to Awadh in 1723. The Nizam rebelled against the order, resigned as the Vizier and marched towards Deccan. The emperor sent an army against him, which the Nizam defeated in the Battle of Sakhar-kheda. In response, the Mughal emperor was forced to recognize him as the viceroy of Deccan. The Marathas, led by Bajirao, helped Nizam win this battle. In fact, for his bravery in the battle, Bajirao was honored with a robe, a mansabdari of 7,000, an elephant and a jewel. After the battle, the Nizam tried to appease both the Maratha Chatrapati Shahu as well as the Mughal emperor. However, in reality, he wanted to carve out a sovereign kingdom, and considered the Marathas his rivals in the Deccan.

In 1725, the Nizam sent an army to clear out the Maratha revenue collectors from the Carnatic region. The Marathas dispatched a force under Fateh Singh Bhosle to counter him; Bajirao accompanied Bhosle, but did not command the army. The Marathas were forced to retreat. They launched a second campaign after the monsoon season, but once again, they were unable to prevent the Nizam from ousting the Maratha collectors.

Meanwhile, in Deccan, Sambhaji II of Kolhapur had become a rival claimant to the title of the Maratha Chhatrapati. The Nizam took advantage of this dispute among the Marathas. He refused to pay the chauth or sardeshmukhi on the grounds that it was unclear who was the real Chhatrapati: Shahu or Sambhaji II. The Nizam offered to act as an arbitrator in this dispute. At the court of Shahu, Nizam's spokesman was Parshuram Pant Pratinidhi, a Deshastha Brahmin and a rival of Bajirao. At the court of Sambhaji II, his supporter was Chandrasen Yadav, who had fought Bajirao's father a decade earlier. Bajirao convinced Shahu not to accept the Nizam's arbitration offer, and instead launch an assault against him.

On 27 August 1727, Bajirao started a march against the Nizam. He raided and plundered several of Nizam's territories, such as Jalna, Burhanpur and Khandesh. While Bajirao was away, the Nizam invaded Pune, where he installed Sambhaji II as the Chhatrapati. He then marched out of the city, leaving behind a contingent headed by Fazal Beg. On 28 February 1728, the armies of Bajirao and Nizam faced each other at the Battle of Palkhed. The Nizam was defeated, and forced to make peace. On 6 March, he signed the Treaty of Mungi Shevgaon, recognizing Shahu as the Chhatrapati as well as the Maratha right to collect taxes in Deccan.

Bajirao moved his base of operations from Saswad to Pune in 1728 and in the process laid the foundation for turning what was a kasba into a large city.Bajirao also started construction of Shaniwar Wada on the right bank of the Mutha River. The construction was completed in 1730, ushering in the era of Peshwa control of the city.