The Ajit Pawar Powerplay
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-07-03 06:05:56
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
It is surprising that a politician as shrewd as Sharad Pawar could not see the writing on the wall despite several indicators from his nephew Ajit Pawar. That the latter was not happy with his position in the party was known to all and definitely Pawar also knew it. He either thought that Ajit would not be able to get the support of MLAs and will be forced to lie low, like he did after a failed attempt three and a half years ago or will leave the party alone. But it is evident that Sharad Pawar miscalculated this time - Ajit Pawar has left the NCP with several prominent leaders and MLAs, eight of whom have got cabinet berths in the Maharashtra ministry with Ajit himself becoming the deputy chief minister.
Whatever Sharad Pawar may say ('I am the real face of the party') it is now clear that with rebellion brewing in the party for the last several months, the seasoned politician could not control the situation and now stares at a situation similar to the one Uddhav Thackeray faced in the Shiv Sena after Eknath Shinde left with a majority of the MLAs. Giving up control of the party by resigning as the chief was a big mistake and an even bigger mistake was not giving Ajit a party post despite his making clear that he wanted one and was not satisfied with being the leader of the opposition in the assembly. Maybe Sharad Pawar wanted to show Ajit his place but with party heavyweights like Dilip Walse Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal and Praful Patel exiting with him, the dice has not rolled in favour of Sharad Pawar.
As for the Shiv Sena (Shinde) and BJP government in Maharashtra, admitting Ajit Pawar and other NCP rebels is going to be a double-edged sword. Although the government has become numerically stronger and the opposition hopelessly divided and weak, it opens up another power centre and Shinde will not be comfortable with that. It remains to be seen whether the NCP rebels remain with the SS(Shinde) and BJP or Sharad Pawar manages them to woo them back.
