July 3 this year was a momentous day for Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, when he and his loyalists joined hands with the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government and he took oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra again.
This was the first time Ajit Pawar openly rebelled against his uncle, Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar, and split the party. In 2019, Ajit Pawar had become the deputy chief minister in Fadnavis’s cabinet but returned to the NCP soon after. He then again took oath as deputy CM within a few months in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
After the MVA government fell in 2021 when Eknath Shinde split the Shiv Sena and tied up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), there had been speculation that a faction of the NCP led by Ajit Pawar could also join hands with the Shinde-Fadnavis government.
Whenever the media confronted Ajit Pawar on this issue, he was evasive. When Sharad Pawar announced his decision to step down as national president of the NCP, while most other party leaders were trying to convince him to reconsider, Ajit faced criticism for saying that the decision should be respected.
But when Ajit called his loyalists to his residence on the morning of July 3, 2023, most thought it was a regular party meeting. It was revealed later that he would be joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government. Sections of the media portrayed him as a “villain” who betrayed his uncle and the Pawar family. But while addressing his supporters a few days later, Ajit Pawar said he was just following a script given to him.
Before the NCP split, Ajit Pawar was considered its strongest leader after his uncle. He was handling party affairs from the state level to the gram panchayat level. He repeatedly said that he had no ambition to get involved in national politics, which was the domain of his uncle Sharad Pawar, cousin Supriya Sule, and former union minister Praful Patel. While speaking with this reporter after Sharad Pawar asked NCP leaders to form a committee to decide who would be the next party working president whom the octagenarian would mentor and slowly hand over all charges to, Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal told this reporter in an interview, “Pawar saheb has done the natural division in the party. Though he has not made it public, national issues and national politics will be taken care of by Supriya and state politics by Ajit Pawar.”
During the MVA regime, it was evident that Ajit Pawar held sway over the bureaucracy and administration, which helped then CM Uddhav Thackeray carry out the business in the state assembly and during cabinet meetings.
When Ajit Pawar decided to join hands with the Shinde-Fadnavis government, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) leaders were not happy. They had realised that the inclusion of Ajit Pawar and other NCP leaders would leave fewer berths for the Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra government. Also, while breaking away from the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, they had also criticised Ajit Pawar over several issues. But, for now, the “triple engine” government in Maharashtra appears stable.
For years, Ajit Pawar was battling to prove himself to be a mass leader, while he remained in the shadow of his uncle. Observers say Ajit often devised strategies for local and state elections but rarely got credit. He was always given a portfolio with responsibilities but never offered a plum post in the party like state president, as some senior leaders were wary of him. But the recent gram panchayat elections held after the NCP split indicated that candidates supported by Ajit Pawar won in larger numbers compared to those backed by Sharad Pawar. Local media reports also say that many party leaders who show they are with Sharad Pawar and his faction have actually given affidavits of support to Ajit Pawar as the “NCP vs NCP” case is in court.
In a recent two-day conclave organised by Ajit Pawar and his NCP camp in Karjat town, he made it clear that his faction will contest Lok Sabha seats like Shirur, Satara, Raigad, and Baramati in 2024. This means he plans to put up a candidate against cousin Supriya Sule, who is the Baramati MP. This is a direct indication that he has given to Sharad Pawar that he and his faction are ready to take the veteran leader head-on. Ajit claims that he has the support of the majority of NCP MLAs and they have chosen him as the national president of the party. Sources said that on many instances he had given the message to his uncle that he should retire from politics and allow the next generation to take over. But. they added, due to Sharad Pawar refusing to step down, Ajit finally decided in 2023 to part ways and establish himself as the new face of the NCP.
According to observers, Ajit Pawar first felt wronged by his uncle in 2004 when the NCP had won 71 seats in the assembly polls and Congress 69. They had contested the election together against the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. The formula was clear in the coalition that whichever party would win more seats would claim the post of chief minister. In that scenario, Ajit Pawar felt he was the obvious candidate for the CM’s post from the NCP. But, NCP chief Sharad Pawar decided to give the post to the Congress party and asked for an additional four portfolios.
The road Ajit Pawar has gone down now is rocky and he is aware of it. He knows the risk he has taken and the battle that he has to fight against his uncle and guru in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Observers say Ajit Pawar is also aware of the task he was assigned by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah before making him part of the Maharashtra government. The biggest test of his leadership skills would be to help the BJP-led alliance win the maximum possible number of Lok Sabha seats in the state, particularly from the western Maharashtra belt, which is the stronghold of Sharad Pawar and his faction. Only time will tell whether Ajit Pawar succeeds or not.
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