Maharashtra Politics Turns Bizarre Before Lok Sabha Elections In 2024

By Sushil Kutty

Maharashtra politics is strange and is getting weirder by the day. Ask anybody in the streets of Mumbai. Pune or Nagpur. Opinion will not change even in Sambhaji Nagar. Ask political analysts and they’ll say Maharashtra’s politicians are to blame. Take, for instance, the powerful Pawars, Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, uncle and the nephew, who are two of a kind, both of them disruptive politicians; cunning and clever with a poker player’s yen for gambling with every move.

Currently, they’re out to wreck the Nationalist Congress Party that the uncle founded and which the nephew wants to usurp. Sharad Pawar is 82 and Ajit Pawar says he’s old enough to retire. Ajit Pawar covets power and party, and Sharad Pawar is blocking the way. Ajit Pawar traded loyalty for post – something like job-for-disloyalty, not yet classified scam but close.

Ajit Pawar is now Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and shares the post with Maharashtra’s ex-Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Ajit Pawar isn’t satisfied. He wants to be Chief Minister of Maharashtra and own NCP lock, stock and barrel. The BJP apparently told Sharad Pawar “we’ll make Ajit Chief Minister and your daughter Supriya Sule cabinet minister!”

Sharad Pawar maintained a stoic silence. Literally. Breakaway NCP leaders met Sharad Pawar and Pawar spoke everything but what Ajit & Gang wanted to hear. On Tuesday Sharad Pawar flew to Bengaluru to attend the Combined Opposition’s unity meeting. The BJP and Ajit Pawar’s NCP couldn’t recruit Sharad Pawar to their cause.

But there’s many a slip between the cup and the lip and the BJP-Ajit-NCP have their fingers crossed. Sharad Pawar is on record that he’s aloof except to family and himself. This is the reason why “they” went in a bunch to Sharad Pawar and sought his “help” to keep the NCP from breaking. A case of the rapist informing the court he’ll marry the rape survivor!

That said, perhaps, Uncle Pawar might not have time for survivors. He didn’t fall for the BJP’s bait. This, amidst reports that Sharad Pawar was set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Opposition’s Bengaluru unity meet. Nothing can be ruled out. Both the Pawars have flipped when they wanted to and there is no saying they will not now!

For the moment, however, Sharad Pawar is enjoying the pleasure of keeping Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and the rest of the “scumbag rebels” waiting and fretting. The unwavering and unmoving silence he maintained at the two meetings he had  withAjit Pawar and his bunch tried the patience of the rebels. Ajit Pawar & cohorts sought a solution to save the NCP from breaking. Sharad Pawar cut short with “You tell me.”

What did Ajit Pawar& Co expect after revolting and taking sides with the BJP? Sharad Pawar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi share a wary relationship and Modi certainly displays a degree of nervousness as if Sharad Pawaris  privy to a Modi secret. Don’t be surprised if Pawar considers Modi an upstart, which perhaps may not be off the mark. Clearly, where Modi got all the right breaks, Sharad Pawar did not.

To Narendra Modi, Sharad Pawar was always a challenge. Just before AjitPawarraised his banner of revolt, there were unconfirmed reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had plans to end the careers of four to five opposition politicians and one of them was Sharad Pawar!

Then Ajit Pawar jumped ship! And suddenly the octogenarian was alone on the burning deck – a classic case of Mutiny on the Bounty? Now, the rebel NCP leaders want rapprochement. Ajit Pawarand Praful Patel wants Sharad Pawar to plug the holes in the sinking NCP. They have realized that without Sharad Pawar there cannot be a NCP and the 2024 general elections would be the test.

Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and other NCP leaders have all of them throughout their mundane political careers lived off Sharad Pawar’s reputation. None of them had the mojo to lead from the front. Then, the suicidal step when they fell for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wiles! At least Uddhav Thackeray and the fate of Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena should have warned but even that did not register.

To reiterate, Maharashtra politics is strange, even weird.  General elections 2024 and the assembly elections thereafter will decide which of the two fronts will get the right to rule Maharashtra. A whole bunch of politicians are waiting in the wings to show their mettle. Sharad Pawar had the chance to quietly fade into the sunset but nephew AjitPawar’s unbridled ambition and reckless age challenge ensured that Sharad Pawar remained a powerful player in Maharashtra politics. What happens to Maha Vikas Aghadi depends on Sharad Pawar and Sharad Pawar alone.     (IPA Service)

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