Ajit's Pawar Play in Maharashtra: His Role in NCP & State Government | From 2019 to 2023

In a reminder of 2019, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday.

Here’s a recap of his role from 2019 to 2023.

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2019?

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 105 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the results of which were announced on October 24, 2019.

The Shiv Sena, which was in an alliance with the BJP, won 56 seats.

Despite having enough seats to form a government together, the two allies bickered over power-sharing – who will get the chief minister’s post being the bone of contention – resulting in the Shiv Sena starting negotiations with the ideologically different Congress and NCP instead.

With no outcome in sight then, the Centre had imposed President’s Rule in Maharashtra on November 12. The Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP continued negotiations to form an alliance, and Sharad Pawar later announced that Uddhav Thackeray had been unanimously chosen to head the new government.

However, in one of the biggest political surprises in Maharashtra, then Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari swore in Devendra Fadnavis as the Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister in an early morning swearing-in on November 23.

The ministry lasted three days, after which Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, with Ajit Pawar as his deputy on November 28, 2019.

THE SENA COUP

In June last year, Eknath Shinde and 39 MLAs rebelled against the Sena leadership resulting in the party’s split.

Thackeray resigned as the CM ahead of the trust vote, causing the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government (which also comprises the National Congress Party (NCP) and Congress).

Shinde later tied-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government in Maharashtra.

On June 30, 2022, Shinde was sworn in as the CM along with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.

rECENT REMINDERS OF 2019

Three years after the 2019 incident, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis recently said the exercise had NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s backing.

“We had an offer from the NCP that they needed a stable government and we should form such a government together. We decided to go ahead and hold talks. The talks happened with Sharad Pawar. Then things changed. You have seen how things changed," Fadnavis said, referring to Ajit Pawar quitting the government 80 hours later.

“In all fairness, I want to state that Ajit Pawar took oath with me with honesty… but later on their (NCP’s) strategy changed," Fadnavis said, during an event organised by TV9 news channel.

Responding to Fadnavis’ remarks, Sharad Pawar said, “I felt that Devendra is a cultured person and a gentleman. I never felt that he will take recourse to falsehood and make such a statement."

It was true that BJP leaders had met the NCP leadership and had discussions on several things, Pawar said.

“But he (Fadnavis) himself said yesterday that I changed the decision (to go with the BJP) two days earlier (before the swearing-in) …If I had changed the decision, what was the reason for going ahead and taking the oath of office, and that too so discreetly in the early morning," the NCP chief asked.

“Had they (Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar) had the NCP’s support, wouldn’t the government have survived? The government fell, and he had to resign," Pawar further said.

“Certain things were done (at that time) to expose before the public how far they (BJP) can go for power…There was a need to bring out that they could not live without power," the NCP chief said cryptically.

His father-in-law (Test player Sadu Shinde) was a googly bowler, and he himself (Pawar) was the chairman of the ICC, he said, adding, “So, without playing cricket, I knew where and when to bowl a googly." Pawar also said that instead of making unnecessary statements, Fadnavis, who is also home minister, should focus on ensuring women’s security in the state.

POWER DYNAMICS IN NCP

Ajit Pawar shocked all recently, on the foundation day of the party in June, asking chief Sharad Pawar to relieve him of the post of leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly. He asked for a bigger role in the party, saying during a speech: “I am told that I don’t act tough as the leader of the opposition. Hence, relieve me from this post and give me a bigger role in the party," adding, “I was never interested in working as the LoP but accepted on the demand of party MLAs."

The senior NCP leader has been making headlines over the past two months. When his cousin Supriya Sule was appointed as the first working president of the party, there were unconfirmed reports that Ajit was not quite happy. His name popped up again in media reports suggesting that he was the leader of a group within the NCP that wanted to join the BJP.

When Sharad Pawar resigned as the national president, all party leaders and workers tried to persuade him to take his resignation back but Ajit took a stand and asked everyone to respect the decision. After the last budget session of the state assembly, he was targeted by an alliance partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi that being the leader of the opposition, he was not as aggressive against the ruling party.

According to some senior NCP leaders, Sharad Pawar has made a natural division in the party. As Pawar has appointed Sule as the working president and given her responsibility of Maharashtra, Haryana and Punjab for the Lok Sabha elections, it was being said that Ajit may get the responsibility of the state elections.