In reality, Sharad Pawar is always ready to do anything to stay in power.
NEW DELHI
Maratha leader Sharad Pawar, who has been a prominent figure in Indian politics for nearly 60 years, is once again gearing up for the battle of power, this time with new alliances. At the age of 83, he is still actively involved in Maharashtra politics and is working to form a government with his preferred allies, including his daughter Supriya Sule. His record of forming and breaking relationships with the Gandhi family of the Congress is quite remarkable, having had chapters with Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi. Despite sometimes rejecting the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar has made it clear in a recent media event that he believes Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading the country. He is also making efforts to understand and bring together Opposition leaders from different states, much like a chess master, for new negotiations against the BJP in the upcoming elections. In this context, he is showing kindness to the Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party by agreeing to allocate some seats to them in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has never faced such a situation.
Not only is Rahul Gandhi accommodating Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav, but he is also reconciling with those convicted in corruption cases, like Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The irony is that despite Rahul’s entire campaign of criticism, he is supporting the Adani Group and acknowledging its significant contribution to India’s development. The question is how many seats can Maratha leader Sharad Pawar win for his Nationalist Congress Party (faction) or other allied parties in North India?
Second, Sharad Pawar is often seen as a player who retreats to the second position like a captain in Kabaddi, so no one can guarantee how long he will stay with Rahul Gandhi’s Congress. Now, the Election Commission and the courts will decide whether the Nationalist Congress Party belongs to Sharad or his nephew Ajit Pawar. Not only that, if there is a rift with the BJP, Pawar continues to signal the possibility of making Ajit his own. His sole aim is to make his daughter Supriya Sule his political heir.
That’s why some time ago, there was discussion about making Supriya, a Union Minister with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his associates.
Now, father and daughter do not want to talk about this proposal. However, after the Lok Sabha elections, the corridor for reopening this proposal is wide open.
In reality, Sharad Pawar is always ready to do anything to stay in power. He is adept at forming relationships with governments, financial powers, and other parties or leaders.
That’s why at one time, he attempted to mediate between the Muslim side and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad during the Ayodhya dispute.
He was once an opponent of Bal Thackeray and is now closest to his son, Uddhav Thackeray. In 1983, he held a massive rally of Opposition leaders in Pune against Indira Gandhi’s strong opposition and three years later, he sought refuge in Rajiv Gandhi. He didn’t see a chance to become Prime Minister, so he engaged in horse-trading. In any case, in Maharashtra, he didn’t allow any major Maratha leader to become an option.
Despite his efforts, his party’s influence did not expand significantly beyond neighbouring Goa or Gujarat. So, how can he help his party or coalition partner in far-off West Bengal or Kerala? Leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Lalu Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Farooq Abdullah, among others, see the benefit of Sharad Pawar’s financial power and connections with corporate groups in Mumbai after Tatas and Birlas. After all, Sharad Pawar has never hesitated to make deals with Ambani and Adani. The forthcoming Lok Sabha elections will serve as the ultimate assessment of Pawar’s political influence.
The writer is editorial director of ITV Network—India News and Dainik Aaj Samaj.