Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari 
Whether the Bharatiya Janata Party likes it or not, Gautam Adani has become a poll issue just a week before Maharashtra votes in its fiercest elections so far.
Ajit Pawar might have brought up the name of the controversial industrialist in a video interview with The News Minute to settle scores with his estranged uncle Sharad Pawar, but in a way, he has scored the goal against the BJP instead of the senior Pawar. Only time will tell whether it was done unintentionally or by design.
“Everybody knows where the meeting took place… Everyone was there. Let me tell you again. Amit Shah was there, Gautam Adani was there, Praful Patel was there, Devendra Fadnavis was there, Ajit Pawar was there, Pawar Saheb (Sharad Pawar) was there,” he said, speaking of the 2019 episode when he tried to form a government with the BJP.
The damage has been done despite Ajit’s claim a day later that his statement that Adani was part of political talks held between the BJP and Nationalist Congress Party in 2019 has been “misconstrued.”.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding..,” Ajit said.
Interestingly, the media-savvy BJP had chosen to be silence since the controversy broke out, raising suspicions that there is more to this claim than meets the eye. Adani’s growing footprint in all key sectors has been projected as a matter of concern by a section of the opposition.
Also read: Maharashtra: Dharavi Redevelopment Becomes Key Poll Issue as Opp Questions Adani ‘Land Grab’
By now it is clear that there are wheels within wheels in the Mahayuti alliance. Ajit Pawar was clearly in a hurry to show himself in good light over the 2019 decision. After the polls that year, Devendra Fadnavis attempted to lead a government before the Maha Vikas Aghadi triumphed. Ajit had rebelled against Sharad Pawar’s NCP but returned soon enough. But Ajit’s interview has entangled the BJP deeper into the Adani affair, deepening concerns that the industrialist is personally helping the world’s largest party.
The short-lived Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government had become an albatross around the neck of the BJP as well as Ajit, as they were seen as acting power hungry when the state was facing a political deadlock.
Ajit’s revelation is also an embarrassment for Adani, who is under consistent attack from the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray over the controversial Dharavi redevelopment plan to turn Asia’s largest slum in Mumbai into a modern hub.
Uddhav as well as Aaditya Thackeray have time and again alleged that Adani, by securing the redevelopment contract from the Mahayuti government, planned to exploit those living in Mumbai. They have promised to scrap the contract if the MVA comes to power.
For long, Rahul Gandhi has led a campaign against Adani, insisting that the industrial group was progressing by leaps and bounds due to alleged and unconditional backing of the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Arvind Kejriwal, when he was Delhi chief minister, had addressed the assembly on the issue – alleging that Modi works for Adani.
Demands of a discussion in parliament on the Adani issue during the last Lok Sabha was met with silence from the ruling side.
Adani is also known to have a close rapport with Sharad Pawar for long time, and now, Ajit Pawar’s insinuation that his uncle was involved in the operation to form the government with BJP after the 2019 polls adds a new dimension to Sharad Pawar’s claim that his nephew had been wayward with his 2019 decision to break ranks.
Sharad Pawar’s anti-BJP line has certainly grown more prominent in the past five years, since he became the architect of the first Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Uddhav Thackeray in 2019. In the changed circumstances, he brought the Congress on the table to share power with the Shiv Sena.
The consistent claim of Uddhav and his party had been that in pre-poll closed-door negotiations, Amit Shah had agreed to give the chief ministership to the Shiv Sena for the first half-term.
Ajit Pawar’s disclosure in the middle of the election battle would not help the BJP, as it risks alienating a section of Maharashtra which is sympathetic to it but dislikes industrialists playing a role in government formation. Ajit’s disclosure would not only dilute the BJP’s image as a Hindutva hardliner but also send the message on the influence of industrialists on the world’s largest party.
Already, there has been a section in the BJP as well as the RSS that has been against doing any business with the controversial Ajit Pawar. Some BJP leaders, like Kirit Somaiya, had campaigned for jail for Ajit, who they view as corrupt.
There is a method in the madness of Ajit attacking his uncle in the midst of campaigning. Attempts by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to target the Maratha strongman has so far boomeranged on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
It helps both Ajit and BJP to show Sharad Pawar in bad light. The talk in political circles is that Ajit is in a ‘danger zone’ and is attempting every trick in the trade to remain relevant.