Gloves are off as battle-ready Ajit Pawar gears up to take on Sharad Pawar

“Sharad Pawar caught us off guard. Even his resignation, followed by withdrawal as party president, was staged. He gave us the impression that he wanted to resign and elevate Supriya Sule as party president. But when he announced his resignation, we were taken by surprise as Jitendra Awhad and Anand Pranjpe, with party activists, held demonstrations demanding a rollback. Now, my point is, if Sharad Pawar did not want to resign he should have said it clearly to us. Why did he mislead us?” Ajit Pawar said.

He also announced that he would tour Maharashtra to rebuild and consolidate the organisation, keeping the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in sight. “I will lead the party from the front. I will spare no effort in hard work. I will be touring extensively to reach out to people and pursue critical issues confronting the masses,” he said.

Ajit Pawar’s scathing attack against his estranged uncle was not his first. In July, soon after he had joined the BJP, Ajit Pawar had spoken in detail about how repeated discussions were held with the BJP central leadership about a possible alliance. All the talks were with Sharad Pawar’s consent, the deputy chief minister had said then.

During his address at the conclave, senior working president Praful Patel spoke about how the NCP had contemplated an alliance with the BJP way back in 2004. A meeting had taken place at his place in Delhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani had given their consent for the talks, he said. However, the alliance had to be aborted as the late Pramod Mahajan leaked the news to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray prematurely, he added. Mahajan was reportedly wary of an alliance as he feared Sharad Pawar would overpower him in Delhi politics. “Whether it was the 2019 BJP-NCP alliance which lasted for three days or the present, Sharad Pawar knew everything,” Patel said.

The objective behind Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel’s attack on Sharad Pawar was to indicate he was never averse to ally with the right wing. And therefore, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has no right to question the Ajit Pawar faction for joining the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition government.

“The BJP seems to have given a supari (contract) to Ajit Pawar to malign the image of Sharad Pawar. The BJP wants to end Sharad Pawar’s political career but then people know who is what,” former home minister Anil Deshmukh, who is in the Sharad Pawar faction, said.

During Diwali, setting aside their political differences, Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar were part of three family get-togethers, giving rise to speculation that the uncle and nephew were coming up with a new game plan.

On November 10, the Pawar family had lunch at Sharad Pawar’s younger brother Prataprao’s house in Pune. This was followed by a family lunch at Sharad Pawar’s residence in Baramati to celebrate Diwali. On Bhai Dooj, Ajit Pawar hosted a family lunch at his residence in Baramati.

However, both sides had then dismissed a political to their meetings. “Politically, we have differences but we are together as a family,” Supriya Sule, working president of the Sharad Pawar NCP faction, said.

In July 2023, Ajit Pawar, along with 41 MLAs of the total 54 in the NCP, broke away to join the coalition government in Maharashtra. One MP followed suit.

Five months later, both factions of the NCP are still fighting for their rights to the party title and clock symbol. While this matter is pending before the Election Commission, the MLA disqualification case is before Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar.

Amid these unresolved issues, Ajit Pawar made his intentions clear by voicing support for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in a clear break with the past.

In an undivided NCP, the top leadership, including Ajit Pawar, had always called for caution expressing concern over the UCC’s impact on Dalits, tribals and minorities. While the NCP was always noncommittal on the UCC, it had in the past described it as BJP’s agenda for electoral gains.

On Friday, however, Ajit Pawar said, “There is a misconception about UCC amongst the Dalits, tribals and backward classes. I think it is time to have a detailed discussion on UCC. I am merely putting the idea forth.”

By giving consent to the controversial agenda, Ajit Pawar seems to have made his intentions clear: not only does he intend to stick with the BJP but he is also looking at ways to mend their differences to make the alliance work at the grassroots.