In a completely unexpected turn of events, Sunetra Pawar, the widow of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar, is all set to take over her husband’s position in the government, a development necessitated either by accentuated power play within the NCP, or induced by senior partner BJP’s desire to balance the political equations. The decision of Sunetra Pawar is being viewed as an outcome of pragmatic politics, and her desire to save the party from being controlled by someone other than Ajit Pawar’s immediate family. Maharashtra strongman and Ajit’s uncle, Sharad Pawar, has denied that he was privy to this crucial decision, but said that Ajit and Jayant Patil, had been working for the merger of the two NCP factions by February 12th.
The tragic plane crash has expectedly given rise to multiple conspiracy theories even though there is no evidence to suggest any foul play in the incident. The crash is being attributed to poor visibility but the probe is on, and shall hopefully eventually provide the exact reason for the tragedy later.
Ajit’s demise has upset the power equations not only in the ruling coalition, but also within his own party and family. He was a stalwart whose very presence was the cementing force in the organization which has many ambitious individuals who are driven by their personal ambitions and can do anything to secure their political future.
Many political analysts are of the opinion that Ajit had inherited the political legacy of his uncle Sharad Pawar, and had emerged as the most accomplished politician of Maharashtra during his own lifetime. His faction of the NCP comprised virtually everyone who had once expressed their total allegiance to his uncle. It is another matter that there has always been a counter view which suggested that the NCP split was engineered by the uncle and nephew in order to save the organization.
Ajit and his colleagues were facing numerous allegations of corruption and the BJP’s leadership had been highlighting these acts in political speeches. The belief in some quarters was that in order to save the top NCP leadership from going to jail at one time, the split was brought about following a secret understanding between Sharad Pawar and Ajit. In politics, anything is possible and this was to keep the Pawars relevant in the Maharashtra politics.
Ajit was essentially a “nuts and bolts” man and knew every constituency of the state. He was the Deputy Chief Minister six times under different regimes, and therefore was often referred as the bridesmaid but never the bride. The fact was that even though there were different CMs in the state, no one knew the functioning of the various ministries better than “Dada” as he was fondly referred to by his admirers. He was ruthless and unsparing in his politics but always stood with the workers.
During the course of the campaigning of the recently concluded municipal elections in Maharashtra, where a united NCP fared poorly, Ajit had challenged the BJP to prove the allegations against him. In a counter offensive, he had claimed that he was aware of the Rs 100-crore corruption within the BJP and had evidence to prove it. However, he never came out with the facts in the public domain and many believed that it could have been his way of silencing BJP leaders.
There was intense speculation as to what would happen to the NCP’s merger plans following his death and what the future held for the Pawar family. The domination of the Pawars in Maharashtra politics for nearly five decades was also likely to diminish gradually, but then Sunetra Pawar’s decision to replace her husband was announced publicly. The objective behind this could be manifold.
Firstly, Ajit’s family wanted to ensure that the reins of control over the NCP remained within the immediate members and would not want patriarch Sharad to exploit the situation politically. Secondly, with emotions running high, it was an appropriate time to wrest the initiative and take things in control. Of course, Sunetra is not a replacement for her husband, but her being there would send a political message.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was equally keen that the Maratha politics within his ministry needed to be balanced. In this context, it should be pointed out that Eknath Shinde, the other Deputy CM, is also a Maratha and thus could try and enlarge his scope of influence to regions where he did not mater till now.
There is also speculation that Devendra Fadnavis may have played a role in convincing Sunetra to step forward and accept the Deputy Chief Ministership. This step would have also served in checking Sharad Pawar’s possible game plan of bringing about a merger, and appointing is daughter Supriya Sule to an important post.
In Maharashtra, it is Pawar versus Pawar at one level and it is Maratha vs Maratha at another level. Simultaneously, the BJP, which controls the levers of power, does not want the situation to become fluid and wants the balance to be maintained. Ajit’s death has impacted the future of the NCP, and has changed political equations within the state. It also could mean that the Pawars shall not call the shots in the same manner as they did for all these years.
Politics is a strange phenomenon and one death can alter the future. Between us.
