Ajit Pawar sworn-in as Deputy CM of Maharashtra: A timeline of events which led to him splitting NCP

By Pawar’s side since 1991-’92, he harboured dreams of being the heir apparent after Pawar broke away from the Congress to form the NCP in 1999. He was elected as MLA from the Baramati Assembly Constituency in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014. and previously in 2019 winning by a vote margin of 1,65,265 votes.

Ajit was elevated to the Cabinet minister rank in Maharashtra at the age of 40 in 1999 after having served as a junior minister for over nine years.

He has taken charge of some heavyweight ministries such as Irrigation, rural development, water resources, and finance that helped him spread his clout throughout the state, including his own pocket borough of west Maharashtra.

In 2019, problems cropped up between uncle and nephew as Ajit demanded that his son Parth be fielded from Maval constituency.

It was said that NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had dropped his plans to contest Lok Sabha elections from Madha constituency to make way for Parth to contest from Maval.

Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais congratulates the newly sworn-in Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar during a ceremony at Raj Bhavan, in Mumbai, Sunday, July 2, 2023. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are also seen. (PTI Photo)

Although Maval was considered as an NCP stronghold, Parth lost the election, which was seen as a major blow to the family’s clout.

Post the Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 2019, alliance partners BJP and Shiv Sena differed over the power-sharing arrangement, resulting in Shiv Sena turning towards the Congress and NCP for a new alliance.

After Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari imposed President’s rule in November 2019, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress announced that Uddhav Thackeray had been unanimously chosen to head the new government.

In a a shocking turn of events Ajit broke away from his uncle to form a short-lived government with the BJP. Ajit was sworn in as the deputy CM for the shortest term as the government led by BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, which took oath in a hush-hush ceremony in the Raj Bhawan, lasted just 80 hours.

He later served as the deputy CM in the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray and remained in the position for two-and-half years, till the alliance government collapsed in June 2022.

On May 2, before Sharad Pawar announced his decision to quit as the party chief, only to withdraw it later, Ajit Pawar visited Delhi to meet the BJP leadership.

NCP supporters deface a banner showing party leaders Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare during a protest party leaders who joined the state cabinet.

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After withdrawing his resignation, Sharad Pawar appointed Supriya Sule and Praful Patel as the party’s working presidents, overlooking Ajit. This is considered as the major reason for Ajit’s defiance of his uncle to join the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance.

On Sunday he was sworn-in as the Deputy chief minister of Maharashtra for the fifth time as he joined the Eknath Shinde-led government. He will be sharing the post with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.

Besides Pawar, eight more MLAs took oath to join the Maharashtra government — Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Dharmobaba Atram, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode and Anil Patil.

Commenting on his nephew’s rebellion, Sharad Pawar today said, “Today’s episode may be new for others, but not for me. We will not fight over anyone saying anything by taking NCP’s name; we will go to people.”

Defending his decision to share power with the BJP, he said, “If we can go with the Shiv Sena, then we can go with the BJP as well. The same thing happened in Nagaland as well. Overall and comprehensive development was taken into account. We have a vast experience of the administration, we can utilise it for the good.” Commenting on Ajit’s remark, Sharad Pawar said: “This may be his stance, but it is not compatible with the NCP’s principles.”

Meanwhile he also denied a split in NCP and said they would contest all the future elections on the NCP’s name and symbol.