Discontent simmers in Ajit Pawar NCP as it sends Sunetra Pawar to Rajya Sabha after Baramati rout

Replying to a question whether he was disappointed by the NCP leadership’s move, Bhujbal told reporters, “Can you see it on my face?”, adding that “When you work in a party, you have to make certain sacrifices. Interest of the party is paramount.”

The NCP brass also put up a united face as all ministers and senior party leaders joined Sunetra while she filed her nomination during the day. Thursday was the last day for filing nomination for the June 25 bypoll necessitated by senior party leader Praful Patel’s move to vacate his seat after just two years as he got elected for a full six-year term in the Rajya Sabha biennial elections held in February this year.

Sunetra’s bid for a four-year Rajya Sabha term has got the backing of her party’s Mahayuti partners including the BJP and CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

With the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – comprising the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) – deciding to not field its nominee, given the absolute majority of the ruling coalition, Sunetra is set to get elected unopposed on June 18, the last date for withdrawal of nomination.

Significantly, in the recent Lok Sabha polls, Sunetra was trounced by her sister-in-law Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, by over 1.58 lakh votes in Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family. Sule took a massive lead over Sunetra even in the constituency’s Baramati Assembly segment represented by Ajit Pawar, the seven-term MLA.

The NCP leadership’s decision to still send Sunetra to the Rajya Sabha after her rout in Baramati has caused resentment in a section of party leaders and workers, with murmurs having already started within its ranks in this regard.

NCP sources said Ajit’s son Parth played a key role in pushing for his mother’s election to the Upper House. “Loss in Lok Sabha has been compensated by sending Sunetra to Rajya Sabha,” a party leader said.

Parth had lost his own election in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when he contested from the Maval constituency.

Criticising Ajit over Sunetra’s nomination, a senior party leader said, “This is a new NCP team and it was important to send a worker or another leader to Rajya Sabha with an eye on Assembly polls. Does he (Ajit) not trust any leader other than his family to be sent to Rajya Sabha?”

NCP insiders said over a dozen party leaders were aspirants for this Rajya Sabha seat. An NCP leader said the decision to send Sunetra to the Rajya Sabha was taken even though it would not boost the party’s efforts to expand its social base and organisational footprint. Instead, he added, it would further upset legislators and leaders who have already started reaching out to the Sharad Pawar faction of the party.

After Ajit split the NCP and joined the NDA government in July last year, he appointed his close aide Sunil Tatkare as the state party unit chief. Tatkare’s daughter is a minister in the Shinde-led government, while his son is an MLC.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the NCP contested only four seats in the state. While Sunetra was put up in Baramati, Archana Patil, an Ajit’s relative, was fielded from the Dharashiv seat. In Shirur, a turncoat Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil was given the ticket, while in Raigad Tatkare himself was a candidate. Out of them only Tatkare won.

On the other hand, the Sharad Pawar’s NCP(SP) bagged 8 Lok Sabha seats out of 10 it contested, achieving the best strike rate among all the leading contenders.

Ahead of the crucial state Assembly polls, slated for October this year, the NCP is being increasingly seen as a party which “mainly promotes the interests of Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel”, observers say, adding that this reinforces the nepotism charge against Ajit while giving rise to a perception that “he lacks trust in anyone outside his family and close circle, which would further hurt the party”.