It has been a rollercoaster ride for Maharashtra politics since 2019: three different chief ministers and, now in another twist, Ajit Pawar took oath as the second deputy chief minister on Sunday. Much like chief minister Eknath Shinde, the NCP leader broke up with the top brass of his party and walked out with at least 40 MLAs to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). And like Shinde did with the Shiv Sena, he is now claiming that his “faction” is the “real NCP”.
The turmoil in state politics began soon after the 2019 assembly elections. Devendra Fadnavis took oath as chief minister along with Ajit Pawar as his deputy in an early morning swearing-in ceremony but this government lasted only three days. Then came the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government and a few months later, in the first cabinet expansion, Ajit took oath once again as the deputy CM. Last year on June 30, Shinde rebelled against Uddhav and took oath as CM while Fadnavis became his deputy. And now, with Ajit’s entry into the government, Shinde has two deputies. This is the NCP leader’s fifth term as deputy CM and the third since 2019.
Now, the equation between the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP has become the strongest in the state. “We will be contesting all the elections as the NCP and with its party symbol. In a democracy, actual numbers and majority are important factors. Let me tell you, we have the support of all MLAs and it has been conveyed to the party leadership. In the past, we split from the Congress and formed the NCP and contested the elections,” Ajit said, adding, “he has the blessing of all the leaders of the party. If we can join hands with the Shiv Sena, what is wrong with aligning with the BJP?”
During the press conference, the senior leader also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his work. He also made a claim over the party but did not give an exact number when asked how many MLAs stood with him. He, however, said: “All MLAs are with us and we have the blessing of the leadership.”
Prafull Patel, who was recently appointed as the working president of the party alongside Supriya Sule, was also seen with Ajit at Raj Bhavan and during the press conference. This indicates that Ajit has a strong hold over his party and, this time, along with Patel, he has managed to get some Sharad Pawar confidants into the mix – Dilip Walse-Patil, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Ramraje Nimbalkar and Hasan Mushrif. All these leaders supported Sharad Pawar when he had split from the Congress and formed the NCP.
Ajit joining the Shinde-led government has strengthened the NCP bench in the legislative assembly. Though the CM said he was quite happy about Ajit’s inclusion as his rich experience will only help, a section of Sena leaders (Shinde supporters) are unhappy. They are of the opinion that due to the induction of NCP MLAs in the government, Sena will get fewer cabinet berths in the next expansion.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said in the near future, Maharashtra will get a new CM as Shinde and 16 other MLAs are facing a disqualification petition. The BJP has roped in Ajit and the NCP just in case Shinde and the MLAs are disqualified, he said.
“The BJP, which had alleged that the NCP was the most corrupt party, has given cabinet berths to some NCP leaders today. Ajit did inform us about resigning from the post of leader of the opposition. On July 6, I had called a meeting of important leaders of the NCP. But some leaders have taken a different stance and are now calling themselves ‘the party’. But many leaders have called me and told me that they were asked to sign on the support paper, so within the next few days, everything will become clear,” NCP chief Sharad Pawar said.
Further, he said, “If they are claiming the party, then we will go to people and ask them to decide on this. In the 1980s, too, 56 MLAs under my leadership had won the state elections but due to some reason, 50 MLAs joined their party and I remained as the leader of six. So today’s incident is not new for me as I have already faced this in the past.”
On what action the party will take going forward, Pawar said: “I had appointed (Sunil) Tatkare and Prafull Patel as office-bearers of the party, and they failed to take action against party members who took a different stance; hence, now I will have to take appropriate action.”
The veteran will be travelling to Karad on Monday and pay respects to YB Chavan’s memorial and then start meeting people. He is of the opinion that: “I trust people and voters, I will ask them to decide but those who left the party in the past lost the elections.”
Sharad Pawar also made it clear that he will not be approaching the court with respect to Ajit’s decision.
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