In the backdrop of the possibility of two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions coming together in the civic polls in a couple of cities, the bonhomie among the Pawars was visible on Sunday, when industrialist Gautam Adani inaugurated the Sharadchandra Pawar Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence in Baramati in Pune district.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and NCP chief Ajit Pawar welcomed Adani and his wife Priti when they landed in Baramati and were spotted driving them to the event venue, with Rohit at the wheel. All the Pawars who are active in politics were on the dais at the venue, including Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Sunetra Pawar, Rohit Pawar and Yugendra Pawar, who contested the assembly elections against Ajit. As Sule was asked to give a bouquet of flowers to welcome Priti Adani, she requested Sunetra to do the honour. The two had fought a bitter election against each other in Baramati last year. The family was also together, as Pawar senior hosted lunch for the industrialist at his residence, Govind Baug. According to those in the know, Ajit visited Sharad Pawar’s Baramati residence after two years.
The bonhomie is significant in the backdrop of the wedding of Ajit’s younger son, Jay, in Bahrain earlier this month, which was skipped by Sharad Pawar, Sule and Shrinivas Pawar, who is Ajit’s brother and Yugendra’s father. It is also significant in the context of the two NCP factions coming together in Pimpri Chinchwad and, probably, one or two more civic bodies. The possible alliance has sparked fresh speculation about the merger of the two factions. Senior leaders from both parties don’t see any such possibility immediately. However, they are pointing out that the gap between the uncle and nephew has narrowed, which is also coinciding with Ajit’s growing restlessness with the BJP in the Mahayuti alliance. He is suspicious that the BJP will, over time, weaken its allies, say his close aides.
{{/usCountry}}The bonhomie is significant in the backdrop of the wedding of Ajit’s younger son, Jay, in Bahrain earlier this month, which was skipped by Sharad Pawar, Sule and Shrinivas Pawar, who is Ajit’s brother and Yugendra’s father. It is also significant in the context of the two NCP factions coming together in Pimpri Chinchwad and, probably, one or two more civic bodies. The possible alliance has sparked fresh speculation about the merger of the two factions. Senior leaders from both parties don’t see any such possibility immediately. However, they are pointing out that the gap between the uncle and nephew has narrowed, which is also coinciding with Ajit’s growing restlessness with the BJP in the Mahayuti alliance. He is suspicious that the BJP will, over time, weaken its allies, say his close aides.
{{/usCountry}}The negotiator who got the elusive Ambedkar on board
As the Congress-Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) alliance was announced in Mumbai, state Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal made it a point to note that AICC secretary Sachin Sawant held the seat-sharing negotiations successfully with Prakash Ambedkar’s party. When it comes to working out a pre-poll alliance, the VBA has always been tricky to deal with for the opposition parties. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) held negotiations with the VBA, but the latter did not join the coalition.
Ambedkar had also held alliance talks with Uddhav Thackeray, and the duo had even addressed a press conference, but the plan fizzled out. Even during the week-long negotiations now, the VBA kept changing its demands, which convinced Congress leaders that the former was not very keen on the alliance. However, Sawant and his colleagues managed to work out a seat-sharing pact by convincing the VBA. Once a close aide of Ashok Chavan, Sawant did not join the former when he defected to the BJP. On Sunday, he was in the limelight, as the Congress managed to get the Ambedkar-led party on board for the civic polls.
For ‘development’
Politicians changing sides overnight is not something new in politics. During the two party splits since 2022, several politicians have shown how they can change loyalties at the drop of a hat. Still, what happened in Nashik over the past few days ahead of the municipal corporation elections is hilarious, and a comment on the changing political culture in Maharashtra.
Vinayak Pande, a former mayor of Nashik and leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), was distributing sweets when the Thackeray brothers came together. Two days later, he joined the BJP. Dinkar Patil, a general secretary of the MNS, was more dramatic. He was seen dancing with party workers the day the Thackeray brothers announced their alliance for the civic polls. The very next day, he was at a function where he joined the BJP. “Development!” he shouted, when mediapersons asked him the reason behind changing his party for the second time. He probably meant the development of Nashik city.
No more family members
Politicians have been taking people for granted, and yet getting elected. This is also applicable to dynastic politics, which is more evident in local body elections. However, there were at least two instances of voters teaching a lesson to politicians who got their family members to contest in the first phase of the civic polls in Maharashtra.
Ashok Mane, an MLA from Hatkanangale constituency in Kolhapur, had fielded three members of his family, including his son and nephew, in the local polls. All three lost. In Loha, in Nanded district, six members of a family were in the fray. Gajanan Suryavanshi was contesting for the post of president of the municipal council, while five members of his family were seeking election as councillors. Voters probably were not impressed with the family’s determination to serve them. All six of them lost the polls.
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