‘I will be back again’: Sharad Pawar barbs at Modi, Fadnavis set off BJP blowback

On Wednesday, Pawar said, “During his address from the Red Fort on Independence Day, the PM (Narendra Modi) said he will return to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Exactly five years ago, it was Fadnavis who spoke on similar lines. Fadnavis returned to power but not as CM. He had to accept the lower post of deputy CM.” The NCP president added: “I am wondering about what post Modi will return with.”

Sharad Pawar was referring to a Fadnavis comment made ahead of the 2019 Assembly elections.

Fadnavis was then the CM, steering a BJP-Sena coalition government. In a speech in the Assembly then, he highlighted a popular Marathi catchprase: “Mi punha yen” (I will be back again). He would go on to deploy the slogan multiple times in that year’s campaign.

But political events in Maharashtra have unfolded rather unpredictably since.

In the 2019 Assembly polls, the alliance of the BJP and the then undivided Sena won 161 of the state’s total 288 seats. A one-month-long deadlock followed due to an intensifying power struggle between Fadnavis and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray over the CM’s chair.

Subsequently, in a surprise early-morning operation, Fadnavis was sworn in as the CM and the NCP’s Ajit Pawar became Deputy CM. The dramatic turnaround by Ajit would be followed by more U-turns.

Rising to the occasion then, the Sena, NCP and Congress formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and Uddhav took charge as the CM. Thus the CM’s chair eluded Fadnavis in 2019.

But when the rebel Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Sena and aligned with the BJP in July last year, it was expected that Fadnavis would become the CM again.

However, in a surprise move, Fadnavis got the Deputy CM’s post. Politics in Maharashtra have played out in even more surprising ways since. With Ajit leading a breakaway NCP faction to join the Shinde Sena-BJP government this July, Fadnavis is now sharing his post with Ajit.

As Sharad Pawar brought back the Marathi phrase to the political discourse, Fadnavis responded Friday. “What strikes me is that opponents are still interested in this phrase. What is certain is the return of Modiji at the Centre. In Maharashtra, the BJP, the Shiv Sena, and NCP led by Ajit Pawar will return to power after the 2024 Assembly elections,” he claimed.

Fadnavis added: “The mandate (in 2019) was in our favour. We won the polls. But our alliance partner betrayed us. Those who betrayed us paid the price. We got their entire party to our side.”

His supporters continue to have their hopes for a CM position for Fadnavis after the 2024 polls. A senior state BJP functionary said: “Modi at the Centre, Fadnavis in the state – that is our best bet.”

Another leader claimed, “Fadnavis is running the show even in this three-party coalition. If the BJP gets the CM chair after 2024, it will once again be Fadnavis.”

State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule was far less direct with the demand for a CM chair for Fadnavis. “Every party has its own leaders and plans. Shinde leads the Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar the NCP. For us BJP workers, Fadnavis is the leader and inspiration. Our commitment to the three parties alliance is uncompromising and the BJP will go the extra mile to achieve the target of 48 Lok Sabha and 230 Assembly seats in 2024,” he said.