Ajit Pawar: Always the bridesmaid, never the bride

Had Ajit not “approached” Devendra Fadnavis with support for the former chief minister’s (CM) government, there was no way that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah would have facilitated a government led by the Shiv Sena.

Ajit Pawar’s return as Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister (CM) once again arouses the suspicion that November’s powerplay in the state was a well drawn-out and skilfully executed charade by his Machiavellian uncle Sharad Pawar. Even as the drama was being played out for more than 80 hours, I was certain that Ajit could not have rebelled against his uncle without the latter’s tacit sanction – the rebellion had Sharad Pawar written all over it. But did the senior Pawar really flirt with the idea of forming a government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? I don’t think so.

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra deputy chief minister (HT FILE)

I have always been convinced that the Pawars took BJP leadership on a flight through the clouds by playing to the latter’s egos and ambitions, while they were sure throughout that they would be forming a government with the Congress and the Shiv Sena – two weakish parties, that would leave the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) effectively in-charge of the state. That domination would not have happened in an alliance with the BJP, which has a strong leadership at the Centre. However, the BJP is strong only in terms of money power – they are rather at sea over the Constitutional propriety, and I believe this is what Pawar was exploiting.

Had Ajit not “approached” Devendra Fadnavis with support for the former chief minister’s (CM) government, there was no way that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah would have facilitated a government led by the Shiv Sena. By then, they had broken most of the Constitutional norms and precedents in such situations. The Governor had already evoked the President’s Rule in the state without offering the other parties a proper chance to explore the possibilities of government formation. That President’s Rule could technically have stayed in place from six months to three years. But six months would have been enough to break all the other parties, including the Congress, to get the numbers for sustaining the government.

Ajit’s offer of support had the desired effect – the Centre hastily revoked President’s Rule. But when Fadnavis found himself left with no more than Ajit himself to support his government, the way was clear for the three allies to quickly step into the breach with their government in place.

I wonder why the BJP trio [Modi, Shah and Fadnavis] could not spot how they were being manipulated, and must now be gnashing their teeth in even more anger, as Ajit returns to the office of deputy CM (which he would have been even without all that drama of luring the BJP).

Be that as it may, I now feel sorry for Ajit – looking at it from his perspective, he has been destined to always be the bridesmaid and never the bride. In the early days of the Congress-NCP government, he had turned down the offer to be anything more than a minister, saying it was pointless to become a deputy CM which was a glorified name for an office without any real powers. After Chhagan Bhujbal and RR Patil occupied that office along with that of home minister and exerted some real powers, Ajit seized that office, though Pawar still did not assign the home department to his nephew.

Over the years, Ajit has realised the CM’s office may never come to him. So when Prithviraj Chavan took office, he began to act like the de facto CM, even seeking report cards from Congress ministers who complained to Chavan about the interference. Chavan made it clear to him about who gets to call the shots and that has been the cause of eternal distrust between the two.

Now it remains to be seen how powerful Ajit really gets. It may not be possible to assign him those departments where there will be a conflict of interest with his cases – and they include some of the most glamorous departments such as home, irrigation and co-operatives.

So where could that leave Ajit? Perhaps only as a deputy CM without any portfolio, as once Vijaysinh Mohite Patil was in one of the Congress-NCP governments. It was an acknowledgment of the latter’s seniority and an underlining of his exhausted utility to the party at the same time. It eventually led to Patil’s estrangement with Pawar, but I do not believe it is a formula that can be repeated with Ajit. Patil was incapable of a damaging rebellion and it took years for his resentment to bear fruit. Ajit still has the potential of walking away with several Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

It is an unenviable task – how to keep Ajit satisfied while at the same time limiting his influence over the government. But if anyone can pull it off, it is only Sharad Pawar.