Despite Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar clearing that all is well within the NCP, the story speaks otherwise. Sources say there is an atmosphere of restlessness and confusion among the MLAs and other workers of the NCP.
In 2019, when the NCP and Congress came to power and formed Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, the BJP leaders with the help of Central leadership started targeting the ministers of the MVA.
Central investigation agencies such as the National Investigating Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) were set up against ministers such as Nawab Malik, Anil Deshmukh and Hasan Mushrif.
Even before the 2019 elections in Maharashtra, action was taken against NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who was imprisoned for almost two and a half years. He is out on bail now. But when Bhujbal recently took an aggressive stance during a debate in the Assembly, a senior BJP minister threatened him openly in the House itself saying, “don’t forget that you are on bail, you may be sent back to jail”.
Ajit Pawar, his wife and family have also been raided by the Income Tax Department and ED. When all these incidents took place, there was no opposition from the NCP, even today. That’s why, when Anil Deshmukh or Nawab Malik were arrested by the CBI and ED and put in jail, not a single senior leader of NCP, including Sharad Pawar, went to their houses to inquire.
But, during the Devendra Fadnavis government, when Sharad Pawar was issued a notice by the ED and asked to appear for investigation, the entire NCP was against it, many leaders and NCP workers had gathered outside the ED office to protest.
When the properties of Ajit Pawar and his family were raided, the NCP did not oppose the way it did during Sharad Pawar’s time. MLAs, MPs and other leaders of NCP are still not sure what stand the party will take if any action takes place against them by the central agencies. Will the party back them or again remain silent?
The same situation was there in other alliance partners of MVA. Hence, this was another reason behind the split in Shiv Sena. When Uddhav Thackeray was made the party chief or for that matter the CM of the state, none of the leaders who left Shiv Sena along with Eknath Shinde said anything. So it’s very evident that those who went with Shinde only because they had got some assurance and protection against the action of central agencies.
During the MVA government, Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sirnaik had written to Uddhav Thackeray to join hands with the BJP again so that the harassment of central agencies against him and his family will be stopped.
Due to the dangling sword of action by the central investigation agencies, there is restlessness and confusion among opposition parties. At the same time, Sharad Pawar’s ambition is also one of the reasons for the unrest in the party.
If we look at Sharad Pawar’s career in the last half century, he has always tried to be in power or stay close to power, be it in politics or in any field such as culture, literature, social or sports. For example, Sharad Pawar occupied the highest position in the game of cricket at the national and international levels. But after his term ended, he turned to the local cricket association politics. He still takes keen interest in the elections of Mumbai cricket association.
In the past, Sharad Pawar has taken decisions, which were not expected of him. When the Janata Party split took place, he left the Congress along with a faction of the party and formed an alliance with the MLAs and became the chief minister. Then he formed his own party and contested the next Maharashtra election. However, he could not get more than 60 seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. After almost 35 years, he could not cross this number and take over the post of CM, even after the separation from the Congress in 1999.
It was also observed that whenever Sharad Pawar didn’t not find any scope in the Congress, he left and form his own. But still he couldn’t achieve the magical number to form his own government. After the unfortunate assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, when the question of leadership arose in the Congress, Pawar jumped into the fray. But he had to accept the cabinet minister post in Narsimha Rao government.
After the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, Pawar was sent back to Maharashtra. He not only handled that situation well but showed his strong leadership post the 1993 Mumbai blasts and Killari earthquake.
Similarly, Ajit Pawar has also got similar set of skills. He has a strong hold on the administration as well as on the NCP. But a faction of NCP MLAs, who are in the favour of joining hands with the BJP, has realised that they will not get anything till the time they don’t have the actual blessing of Sharad Pawar.
In the NCP, everyone knows that Ajit Pawar will not do anything against Sharad Pawar. In 2019, when he took oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the Fadnavis cabinet, everybody was stunned. Even today, both Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar have not disclosed why that happened.
In 2004, when the NCP got more seats than Congress, it was expected that Ajit Pawar will be made the CM, but Sharad Pawar asked for more cabinet berths in exchange of the post, for which the Congress was immediate ready. That was how Ajit Pawar missed the opportunity to become the CM of the state.
Meanwhile, the way Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is slowly gaining control over the party is quite visible. Political analysts say Ajit Pawar is facing the similar situation which Sharad Pawar faced in the Congress — the pressure of central agencies on one hand, and hurdles within his own party on the other.
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