Ajit and that elusive CM post

Ajit has never hidden his ambition for the top job in the state. He supported the selection of Patil as deputy chief minister after the 2004 assembly elections.

During his show of strength in Baramati on Saturday, as his supporters put up hoardings, “Ajitdada, future chief minister”, Ajit Pawar spoke about the post that has remained elusive to him.

War between NCP factions resumes but Ajit avoids direct attack on Pawar

The NCP had the opportunity to get the chief ministership for the party nominee twice, he pointed out. In 2004, Congress won 69 seats while NCP won 71, but Sharad Pawar did not stake claim on the top post and instead bargained for more cabinet berths for his party.

Many in the NCP feel that RR Patil who was at the height of his popularity then would have become the chief minister. Ajit also felt that the NCP leadership should have struck a deal with Uddhav Thackeray in 2019 when the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government was formed.

“We had 54 seats and Sena had 56. We could have struck a deal with Thackeray to share chief ministership for two and a half years each,” he lamented.

Ajit has never hidden his ambition for the top job in the state. He supported the selection of Patil as deputy chief minister after the 2004 assembly elections while saying that he would like to throw his hat in the ring only if he could become the chief minister.

Things, however, changed by 2010 when Ajit flexed his muscles and ensured that the top position available to the party in the government came to him. When Ashok Chavan resigned as the chief minister post-Adarsh episode and Congress picked Prithviraj Chavan as the CM, Ajit supporter MLAs forced the party leadership to replace Chhagan Bhujbal with Ajit as the deputy CM.

Ajit’s close aides allege that Pawar did not let his nephew or Patil become chief minister because he did not want a bigger power center than him in the party.

According to BJP insiders, when their leaders approached Ajit during the MVA government tenure, he was tapping the possibility of getting the top job if he engineered a split in the NCP, but that did not work out. Interestingly, the splits in Shiv Sena and the NCP had something to do with chief ministerial ambitions of its leaders — Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar respectively. While Shinde’s dream got fulfilled, Ajit continues to be the chief minister in waiting.

Socialists in the state unite

Socialists in Maharashtra who are scattered in countless camps have decided to come together — not to contest elections but to ensure that the BJP is defeated. A recent survey showed that the socialists who are active in social service, non-government organisations and trade unions together have influence on about 7% votes in Maharashtra.

They had a meeting in Pune on Thursday and decided to support the INDIA coalition. During their meeting, there was unanimity that it was time they contributed their efforts to defeat the BJP-RSS combine. A few among them pointed out that the economic agenda of Congress and its allies was no different than that of the BJP. However, they then decided that the immediate need was to prevent the BJP-RSS from returning to power and “turning India into a Hindu nation instead of a secular one.”

Among the participants were leaders of Janata Dal (secular), Dal (U), Rashtra Seva Dal and veteran socialist and trade union leaders. They have now decided to hold division-wise meetings in Maharashtra, beginning with one in Mumbai.

Narvekar back on Tirupati temple board

Many were surprised when Milind Narvekar, Shiv Sena (UBT) secretary and personal assistant to Uddhav Thackeray, was retained as a trustee in the famous Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams Board that manages Lord Venkateswara temple as recently the Andhra Pradesh government rejigged the same. Some of the trustees are appointed by the AP government by seeking nominations from governments of neighbouring states — Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka.

In the restructuring of the board, two nominees are from Maharashtra, Narvekar and Amol Kale (who also heads Mumbai Cricket Association). While Kale happens to be a friend of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Narvekar continuing on the board led to whispers in his party.

However, people close to Narvekar attribute it to his efforts in Maharashtra government allotting a 10-acre plot for TTD to build a temple in Navi Mumbai. They also pointed out another reason: The ruling alliance chose not to insist on any new name because the three parties have a long list of legislators angling for any position of power or influence. They didn’t want to make rest unhappy by choosing two of them. As such, old friend Eknath Shinde did not mind maintaining the status quo.

‘Don’t split my home’

A leader of Shiv Sena (UBT) in Jalgaon district could not control his temper when he got a call apparently from CM Shinde-led Shiv Sena informing him that his corporator wife’s name had been included in the list of office-bearers from the district. The leader was furious and shouted at the caller: “Have you managed to get my wife to defect to your party? Will you at least let there be peace in my house if not in the state?” The telephone conversation has now gone viral.