On February 15, Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that the Ajit Pawar-led faction is the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). It came exactly nine days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) verdict that upheld Ajit’s claim on the party name and symbol. Pawar is challenging both the verdicts in the Supreme Court and is hoping to receive relief in time for the Lok Sabha elections. It is highly likely that Pawar and his colleagues will have to go back to the drawing table, form a new party, get it registered with the ECI, get a new election symbol and popularise it — all in time for the 2024 general elections.
The final battle between Pawar and his nephew has begun
In other words, the final battle between Pawar and his nephew has begun. The question is: Can the seasoned warlord hit back? And how strongly?
For quite some time after the split in the NCP last June, many in the state’s political circles believed that it was fixed between uncle Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit. All doubts were put to rest last week when Ajit made it clear that he would leave no stone unturned to wrest the Baramati constituency from his uncle. He also indicated that he would be fielding his wife Sunetra to defeat Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule who is the sitting MP. The impending battle in Baramati is symbolic of the war between the veteran politician and his once-protégé-now-rival Ajit.
For over four decades, one couldn’t think about Maharashtra politics without Pawar. The shrewd yet grounded politician is a mass leader who built his own following within the Congress based on a mix of progressive politics of the ’70s and later the development model coupled with the strong support of the cooperative sector, bringing new technology in agriculture and also smartly using the Maratha card. Twice, he left Congress and built parties from scratch — first Congress (S) and then NCP. Since the 1990s, the state’s politics have revolved around him. Pawar also pioneered several practices now common in Maharashtra politics. He formed the first coalition government in the state and led it as CM. He encouraged a split in the Shiv Sena led by Chhagan Bhujbal in 1991. In 2014, even with the Modi wave, he managed to hold on to his support base to a large extent till his nephew turned against him and walked away with a majority of MLAs. Now, the party built by him has gone to his nephew. At 83, Pawar has begun another war, probably the toughest in his life—to recover the lost ground.
Up against him is Ajit Pawar, son of his elder brother Anantrao Pawar, who learnt the tricks of the trade from his uncle. In 1991, Ajit’s ascent began in the shadow of Pawar as he was elected as chairman of the Pune district's Central Cooperative Bank and also elected from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. Soon after that, Pawar shifted to national politics and was appointed defence minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government. Ajit vacated the Lok Sabha and shifted to the Baramati assembly seat which he has won since then. His role became more important in the Pawar camp after his uncle quit the Congress and formed the NCP in 1999. While Pawar’s time was divided between Delhi and the state, it was Ajit who handled the party organisation. Ajit who has strong likes and dislikes formed his own team within the party. He also built a good network in the cooperative sector and has been handling the party’s resources. In the past two assembly elections, he played a crucial role in picking party candidates and handling the party’s election management. All this helped him when he decided to walk away with a majority of the party MLAs in June last year and now, as he is out to finish the Pawar faction with the backing of the BJP.
“We know it is not easy for Pawar saheb now. Age is not on his side though he has been working hard, probably more than most young people at our party. However, it is not the same as earlier. Besides, we are up against the BJP-led front which has all the resources at its disposal. They are in power and Ajit Pawar knows who all matters in the party set up across Maharashtra and is trying to take them away. It's an uneven battle,” said a senior leader who has been working with Pawar for almost three decades.
All the same, Pawar remains a major threat to the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra. For the ruling party, winning most of the 48 Lok Sabha seats is important in its Lok Sabha arithmetic. Pawar’s faction is part of the opposition coalition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). In fact, he was the architect of the MVA formed to keep the BJP out of power in Maharashtra. The BJP took its revenge by providing support to Ajit Pawar to split the party and then inducted him into the Eknath Shinde government as deputy chief minister. It is now keeping him at the front as it plans to decimate Pawar.
The war between the veteran of many political battles and his ambitious nephew will be the highlight of this year’s Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Maharashtra. Losing this battle would probably put a full stop to the veteran politician’s decades-long political career. If he wins, the nephew will not find it easy to bounce back.
Shailesh Gaikwad, political editor of HT Mumbai, breaks down the most important political news in Maharashtra this week
Shailesh Gaikwad is political editor and heads the political bureau in Hindustan Times' Mumbai edition.In his career of over 20 years, he has covered Maharashtra politics, state government and urban governance issues.Read More
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