The question being asked in Maharashtra’s political circles is whether the controversial deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, has become the ‘Nadendla Bhaskara Rao’ of Maharashtra as the clock ticks towards the Assembly polls.
Rao faced ignominy four decades ago when he became Andhra Pradhesh’s chief minister, replacing Telugu Desam Party founder N.T. Rama Rao, in a Congress-backed operation performed by controversial governor Ram Lal. Rao served the shortest term till date – 31 days.
For Ajit, better known as ‘Dada’ in state politics, it is a bizarre riches-to-rags story, unheard of in recent times. On a slippery slope after the Lok Sabha elections, he and his party have been struck by a series of developments that could turn politically fatal.
Ajit’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has failed to secure a place in the Union Cabinet despite being part of the NDA. The growing discourse within the BJP in Maharashtra, as well as Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, is unnerving. The call to ‘dump Ajit and his party’ is gaining momentum.
Ramdas Kadam, a Shiv Sena leader (Shinde faction), took potshots at Ajit, saying it would have been better if Ajit’s entry into the Mahayuti would have been delayed. With Ajit becoming the bone of contention, such attacks are bound to grow in the days to come. This could also be part of the BJP’s game plan to force Ajit to accept less seats in the upcoming polls. The BJP has to tread with care as Shinde Sena’s profile grows.
The fact of the matter is that no one wants Ajit as there is no such thing as a free lunch in politics. Ajit has created a record for the longest tenure as deputy chief minister in Maharashtra, and perhaps in the country, and is known as one of the most competent ministers in the state.
Another leader who faced a similar fate is Dushyant Chautala, grandson of the late Devi Lal, after the BJP threw him out of the coalition in Haryana unceremoniously not too long ago. But the Jannayak Janta Party chief is a fluke in Haryana politics.
Ajit’s dramatic operation a year ago – on July 3 to be exact, to ditch his uncle Sharad Pawar and split his party to become the deputy chief minister – was aimed at becoming the chief minister in the future.
Ajit was being probed for various scandals, including the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam, about which the Prime Minister had targeted the NCP just three days before the 64-year-old leader joined the BJP-dominated government.
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Ajit’s grudge was that Sharad Pawar was the obstacle to his becoming Chief Minister. Now, things have reached such a pass that there is a question mark over whether Ajit could even become an MLA again from his fiefdom of Baramati.
It seems that the association with the BJP could have proved the kiss of death politically for both Dushyant and Ajit. Both had won the polls on an anti-BJP platform.
But the BJP, having long sought to undermine Sharad Pawar, had been nurturing Ajit and his ambitions subtly but surely. As the Leader of the Opposition a year ago, Ajit treated the BJP with kid gloves and more than once praised Modi’s leadership.
The ‘Operation Demolition Sharad Pawar’ during the prestigious Lok Sabha election in his pocket borough of Baramati was orchestrated by the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, with Ajit as the ‘actor’. The BJP virtually forced him to field his wife, Sunetra, effectively putting him to the test in Baramati.
Since failing the test, nothing has gone right for Ajit. His faction of the NCP has become a house of cards – one that might collapse sooner rather than later. Reports have it that his faction could be in for a free-fall ahead of the Assembly polls.
A leader of Sharad’s faction has claimed that up to 19 of Ajit’s MLAs are in touch with them. Reports suggest that these MLAs might desert Ajit after the conclusion of the Assembly session beginning next week. No one wants to forgo the funds allocated to their constituencies ahead of the polls due in October-November. Ajit, handling the finance portfolio, is in a whirlpool.
According to reports, Sharad could field one of his grandsons, Yugendra, from Baramati that has been held by Ajit for more than two decades. Yugendra is the son of Ajit’s younger brother Srinivas, who sided with his uncle from day one.
The NCP leader has stirred a hornet’s nest by compelling the BJP to send his wife, Sunetra, to the Rajya Sabha. This has led to internal problems, with several senior leaders becoming unhappy.
One of them is senior minister Chagan Bhujbal, the OBC face of the party, who reportedly is in search of greener pastures. Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has slammed the door on him after reports appeared that Bhujbal, a former Shiv Sainik, was keen to join the party.
Ajit has secured just one out of the four seats it contested in the state and its vote share is an abysmally low of 3.61%. The cup of woes is overflowing for Ajit as the party’s nominee, Praful Patel, failed to get a place in the Union Cabinet. The BJP expressed its inability to make him a Cabinet minister when the party’s strength in the Lok Sabha is just 1.
What has worsened things is that the party’s several Assembly strongholds fell like ninepins as the candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, including the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad’S NCP got massive leads in Assembly segments held by Ajit’s men. It indicates that the party MLAs have sensed the winning side and are subtly dumping their party to cross over at the right time.
What has come as a straw on the camel’s back is that the RSS, through its mouthpiece, The Organiser, is rubbing salt in Ajit’s wounds. In an article by senior Sangh researcher Ratan Sharada, The Organiser has questioned the BJP’s tie-up with the controversial leader.
What was the need to align with Ajit when the BJP was doing better in alliance with Shinde’s Shiv Sena, wondered Sharada, a view echoed by many BJP members.
The literal meaning of Ajit is “unconquered”, but the beleaguered NCP leader is staring at defeat, at least for now.All in all, Ajit is no longer a ‘Dada’.
Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari are New Delhi-based journalists.
