Journalism of Courage
Ajit Pawar may end this year, one dotted with political ups and downs for him, with a question mark over his nearly three-decade-long political career, after his efforts to strike out on his own and forge an alliance with the BJP fizzled out.
In the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, Ajit managed to convince a reluctant Sharad Pawar to field the former deputy chief minister’s son Parth from the Maval Lok Sabha seat. The NCP chief’s misgivings about giving Parth a party ticket turned out to be accurate, as the latter became the first member of the Pawar family to lose an election.
The run-up to the Assembly elections held more twists and turns for Ajit, when he and Sharad Pawar, along with other political leaders, were booked by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged case of money-laundering. In a move that raised several eyebrows, Ajit resigned from the MLA’s post and then went incommunicado for some days.
According to sources, it was the NCP chief himself who convinced Ajit Pawar to contest the Assembly election from Baramati, which he won with the largest margin in the state.
But after the Assembly election results were declared, ruling allies Shiv Sena and BJP started bickering over the post of chief minister and parted ways, and the state came under President’s rule. When, after several rounds of discussions and negotiations, a brand new alliance of Congress, NCP and Sena emerged to form a “stable, alternative” government, Ajit Pawar delivered a body blow to both his party and the alliance.
In a political drama that seemingly unfolded in the late hours of November 22 and early hours of November 23, Ajit joined hands with the BJP and was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of the state, while Devendra Fadnavis became the chief minister.
But NCP chief Sharad Pawar seems to have had the last laugh, as most of the NCP MLAs who had broken ranks and backed Ajit Pawar ended their rebellion and returned meekly to the party fold. After the Supreme Court directed that a floor test be held in the Maharashtra Assembly, and amid allegations of horse-trading against the BJP, the party and Ajit Pawar both realised they didn’t have the requisite number of MLAs to win the floor test. Both Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar resigned from their respective seats, paving the way for the formation of a Sena-Congress-NCP government.
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The next political step taken by Ajit Pawar — who has repeatedly stated that he remains a loyal member of the NCP — will be watched by political leaders, experts and voters alike.
Question marks remain on what he will do next, and how the rest of NCP and Sharad Pawar will respond to his attempted rebellion.
