Trouble shooter-in-chief? Sharad Pawar steps in again to resolve Maharashtra govt’s crisis

Pawar made several suggestions to Uddhav Thackeray and Anil Deshmukh regarding handling the situation related to Sachin Vaze’s case

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has once again stepped in to resolve the crisis the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government finds itself in. In fact, in the past 15 months, Pawar had to often intervene as chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s inexperience in handling the government become a problem for the MVA, as was seen recently in the police officer Sachin Vaze’s case related to his involvement in the scare at industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house.

Soon after the unprecedented Covid outbreak, Pawar stepped in to guide Uddhav Thackeray and state administration on handling the epidemic. (/HT File)

As the MVA government, especially Thackeray, was cornered by the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Vaze controversy, Pawar held parleys with Thackeray on Monday to work out damage control measures, more importantly to distance the government from a controversial officer like Vaze. He called senior police officers to figure out what could be done. Following this, it was decided to transfer Param Bir Singh as the government needed to send a clear signal that it was cleaning up the mess, according to MVA insiders.

Pawar also made several suggestions to Thackeray as well as home minister Anil Deshmukh regarding handling the current situation. He also made it a point to address a press conference in New Delhi and said the government would co-operate with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in investigation and the officers who misused their powers would have to face the music.

This is not the first time Pawar had to step in to help Thackeray handle a crisis.

In fact, the NCP chief has been guiding CM Thackeray and the MVA government in handling crises right from the beginning. He had taken the initiative to form a three-party coalition to keep the BJP away from power in a crucial state and has been ensuring the government comes out of crisis every time.

Soon after the unprecedented Covid outbreak, Pawar stepped in to guide Thackeray and state administration on handling the epidemic. Pawar who has been active in politics for six decades also has a vast experience in handling administration. He was the chief minister of Maharashtra for three terms (together seven years), two terms as union agriculture minister (ten years) and one term as union defence minister (two years). He was also lauded for handling relief and rehabilitation after Latur earthquake and restoring normalcy in Mumbai within days after serial bomb blasts in 1993. His experience in handling administration or difficult political situation has been coming in handy for the MVA government.

During the controversy after Sena minister Sanjay Rathod’s name was linked to death of a woman in Pune in February, it was Pawar who advised Thackeray to drop Rathod from the cabinet to prevent damage to the government’s image.

During the recent budget session of state legislature, when the opposition cornered the government over Vaze’s role, Pawar rang up Deshmukh after which the home minister announced transfer of Vaze out of the crime branch. It was only then the opposition decided not to disrupt the functioning of the assembly, said a senior NCP minister.

Following the arrest of Vaze by the NIA as the government was seen struggling to face the opposition’s onslaught, Pawar suggested that the government should distance itself from the police officer as the BJP was accusing the ruling Shiv Sena of links with Vaze.

“Pawar had to step in to defuse the situation and advise the CM how to navigate through the controversy. He won’t like to be seen as someone who is doing backseat driving, but intervenes whenever there is a problem and the government is in crisis,” said Pratap Asbe, political analyst.

NCP however maintained that Pawar is guiding the government.

“If there is a problem, top leaders of the coalition sit together and discuss the situation. The decisions are taken by the chief minister who heads our government,”said state minister and NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik.

“It is a fact that the MVA government gets the benefit of guidance from Pawar who has vast experience in handling administration,” he added.

“Sharad Pawar is one of the few leaders in the country who has the most experience of running coalition governments. Everybody has respect towards his ability and experience. So, in times of crisis of this government every side listens to him. He has a big role in bringing together this government as well,” said Sanjay Raut, Sena leader and its chief spokesperson. He, however, said that it should not be looked as inexperience of Uddhav Thackeray.