Ajit welcomes Pawar’s decision to stay on but skips announcement

Following Sharad Pawar’s decision to continue as NCP president and giving a clear indication that the party is unlikely to go with the BJP, all eyes are now on the Ajit Pawar-led group of seniors who were keen to join hands with the ruling party

Mumbai: Following Sharad Pawar’s decision to continue as NCP president and giving a clear indication that the party is unlikely to go with the BJP, all eyes are now on the Ajit Pawar-led group of seniors who were keen to join hands with the ruling party. With Pawar conveying the message that he is firmly in charge, it remains to be seen if the legislators will now align with any group planning a coup against him. Meanwhile, Ajit has welcomed his uncle’s decision to withdraw his resignation.

Mumbai, India - May 05, 2023: NCP leader Ajit Pawar interacts with party workers at NCP Party Office, Ballard Estate, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, May 05, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

On Friday, the NCP legislator set tongues wagging anew when he skipped the press conference addressed by Pawar to make the announcement. While most of the party’s senior leaders were present, Ajit was missing. On being asked about this by the media, Pawar said that all the leaders did not need to be at the press conference. He also pointed out that Ajit was one of the leaders who passed the resolution urging him to withdraw the resignation.

Pawar also said that he had informed Ajit about his resignation in advance. “I have to apologise to my senior colleagues—I had not told them but I had kept Ajit in the loop,” he said. Significantly, Ajit was the only party leader who had supported Pawar’s decision to resign, and had even asked party colleagues to quit being sentimental and let Pawar groom a new leadership.

Responding to queries about whether his resignation was a drama to curb NCP MLAs from switching over to the BJP, Pawar riposted that he would not have resigned for this. “I would have forcefully countered such people,” he said.

According to party insiders, Pawar has now thrown the gauntlet at the seniors in the party who were demanding that the NCP dump the MVA and join forces with the BJP. In fact, the entire episode is linked to the pressure mounted on Pawar by a group of senior NCP leaders, including Ajit, to do this. The leaders—several of whom are facing probes by the central agencies—are wary of action against them in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and assembly elections next year. There were attempts to mobilise party MLAs to put more pressure on the leadership but many of them insisted that they wanted Pawar on board for such a decision.

The seniors were also in favour of an arrangement in which Supriya Sule would be national president and Ajit would get a free hand in handling the state’s affairs and MLAs, which would have helped the group take a pro-BJP stand later. They are now on the backfoot. The reaction of the party’s rank and file to Pawar’s resignation has conveyed the message that he controls the party and it is now difficult for them to convince the MLAs to go against Pawar.

“Remember, most NCP MLAs are elected from areas that are traditionally strongholds of the party, with Pawar having influence on the support base there,” said a senior legislator. “If the ground situation is favourable to the party compared to 2019 and the three parties are staying together in an alliance, it would be difficult for most of these MLAs to switch sides. They would be wary of not getting re-elected if they cross over to the ruling alliance. The better option before them could be to wait for future developments and then decide.”

All eyes will now be watching Ajit and his next move. On Friday, meanwhile, after his absence led to renewed speculations, the NCP legislator issued a statement welcoming Pawar’s decision to withdraw his resignation. “The decision taken by Pawar Saheb is encouraging for party workers like me. It will also give strength to the unity of opposition parties in the country,” said Ajit. He also said that NCP leaders were resuming their work with a new vigour, and he himself would be touring Pune, Satara, Osmanabad, Latur and Nashik districts between May 6 and 12.