Bonhomie between Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis began year ago

In September 2014, Fadnavis had tweeted that BJP would “never, never, never have any alliance with the NCP”. In a similar tenor, in an interview on a Marathi news channel, he refuted any possibility of an alliance with the NCP.

As news of Devendra Fadnavis taking oath as chief minister of Maharashtra, along with Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Ajit Pawar being sworn in as deputy chief minister spread on Saturday morning, an old tweet and a video clip of Fadnavis started doing the rounds on social media.

Devendra Fadnavis appointed as Maharashtra CM and Ajit pawar as Deputy CM in presence of Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai (HT PHOTO)

In September 2014, Fadnavis had tweeted that BJP would “never, never, never have any alliance with the NCP”. In a similar tenor, in an interview on a Marathi news channel, he refuted any possibility of an alliance with the NCP.

On Saturday morning, Fadnavis did what he had vowed never to do; he allied with the NCP’s senior leader Ajit – a leader against whom he had initiated an open inquiry by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in the irrigation scam.

One of the main reasons for Fadnavis’ aversion to the NCP was the irrigation scam that he had helped expose as BJP state president, and which played a role in the party’s victory in the state polls.

He did not want the NCP’s taint of corruption on his new government or his clean image. Needless to say, at the time, Ajit and Fadnavis were not on the best terms.

Over the last year and a half, however, there has been a clear thaw in the relations between the two – evident in their behaviour towards each other during the proceedings of the state Assembly sessions.

While Fadnavis’ relations with NCP chief Sharad Pawar worsened post the Maratha protests that the former saw as a move by the latter to destabilise his position, he established a relationship with the younger Pawar.

This was done through the NCP’s leader of Opposition in the Council, Dhananjay Munde, nephew of former senior BJP leader, late Gopinath Munde, who knows Fadnavis from his early days in state BJP.

Another indication of this bonhomie was that the irrigation scam instituted by Fadnavis was moving at a snail’s pace and always stopped short of indicting Ajit. “It is well-known that Fadnavis does not like Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule, and vice versa. What’s not known is that over the last year and a half, Ajit dada and the CM have established contact and formed an understanding. The pace of the irrigation scam indicates this,” said a senior BJP leader, seen to be close to Fadnavis.

Ajit has an Enforcement Directorate case against him in the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank scam as was on the board of directors at the time. While he has not yet been named in any chargesheet, he is also an accused in the irrigation scam. There is an ED case in the Balganga dam project in Konkan. The ACB chargesheet in this project has also not ruled out his involvement. By making an alliance with the BJP, Ajit has made his position secure as he does not want to face imprisonment like NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.

“The CM always though Ajit dada was more straightforward to deal with than the uncle. It’s clear that Ajit dada doesn’t trust his uncle to back him and preferred the deal that Fadnavis offered,’’ he said. So when Ajit had made overtures to Fadnavis through Munde last year, the CM decided to keep the former on good terms. This September, ahead of the state polls, when Ajit Pawar resigned as an MLA and went incommunicado, a section in the BJP close to Fadnavis had expected him to walk out of the NCP with his followers.

At the time, there was no plan by Fadnavis to break the NCP, but such a possibility has always been on the BJP’s back burner.

“There has been a rift in the Pawar family and we have been aware of it. This [getting in touch with Ajit and closing this deal] was Fadnavis’ game plan but it was possible because he had already established a communication channel with him,” said a senior BJP functionary.