‘Why does NCP fall short?’ As Ajit Pawar strikes again, party leaders say Pawar Sr’s eye on larger picture

Addressing an event in Mumbai to mark 24 years of the NCP’s formation, Ajit added that other parties formed by regional leaders had fared much better compared to the NCP. “The Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee has succeeded in forming the government (in West Bengal) on her own strength, winning absolute majority. The Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal has succeeded in forming the government twice in Delhi. He got his party to power in Punjab too in a short period… In Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu formed the government, as did K Chandrashekar Rao in Telangana,” Ajit said.

While Sharad Pawar was the tallest leader among all, he added, the NCP could not claim the feat that others had achieved in Maharashtra, its primary state. “This shows we have failed to deliver,” Ajit said, trying to blunt his remarks by holding NCP foot-soldiers responsible.

He then went on to express his wish to move to a hands-on party role, and said he had already proved himself in elections.

The NCP officially did not react to Ajit’s remarks, which indicate that a smooth change of guard in the party is unlikely, even after Pawar Sr handpicking daughter Supriya Sule and NCP leader Praful Patel as working presidents.

While NCP leaders are hoping that the uncle and nephew will thrash it out, a dismayed NCP functionary, requesting anonymity, pointed out: “Ajit Pawar is known for his blunt speak. So, party workers are used to such talk. But Wednesday’s remarks were like holding a mirror to Pawar Sr. It could have been avoided.”

NCP old-guard loyal to Pawar Sr said Ajit was wrong in making the comparison with other parties. “Unlike in other states where regional parties have emerged as No. 1, Sharad Pawar has always worked to keep all like-minded secular parties intact. He gave them their space instead of overpowering them for political expansion. He adopted consensus politics,” said a senior leader.

A former NCP minister said: “In 2004, the party got the highest number of seats in the state, 71. We could have bargained for CM. But Sharad Pawar gave the coveted post to the Congress, and instead got important portfolios for his party. The welfare of Maharashtra was above power and CM’s post for him.”

The NCP leader said that Pawar Sr again took the same call in 2019, when, as the architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, he let Uddhav Thackeray become CM. “It was to ensure that the coalition worked. And Sharad Pawar made the NCP and Congress accept the model.”

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi president Prakash Ambedkar has a slightly different take. Calling Pawar Senior’s politics “complex”, Ambedkar pointed out that the NCP supremo has a good rapport with even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had, in 2014, offered support to the BJP in Maharashtra (eventually, the BJP had tied up with the Shiv Sena and did not need NCP support).

“The NCP always pursues power politics and avoids sitting in the Opposition. So, that’s the biggest difference. They have never taken rivals head on or in street battles,” Ambedkar, who is seen as pro-MVA but known to speak his mind, said.

Pawar’s deft power play notwithstanding, poll data show that the NCP has never crossed the 75-seat mark in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly in its 24 years. Its Assembly poll performance since 1999, when Pawar formed the party after splitting from the Congress, has been: 58 (1999), 71 (2004), 62 (2009), 41 (2014), 54 (2019).

Correspondingly, it won 8 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in 1999; 9 in 2004; 9 in 2009; 6 in 2014; and 5 in 2019.

Maharashtra has remained the NCP’s political base, with the party’s forays into neighbouring Gujarat and Goa, as well as the Northeast and Kerala, remaining feeble. In the recent Election Commission revision, the NCP lost its national status.

Jayant Patil, whose post as NCP Maharashtra president is seen as the one Ajit is after, talks of a goal not different from his rival’s. “We have to make NCP the No. 1 party in Maharashtra,” Patil said.

Asked about Ajit’s statement, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “It is an internal matter of the NCP. Ajit Pawar is an important and able leader of the NCP. Why he said what he said, only he knows best. It is for their party to reflect on it.”

The mild statement will only feed further into the rumours buzzing around Ajit’s motives. The NCP leader is seen by many as having an understanding with Fadnavis. The two formed a short-lived partnership for power after the 2019 elections, and the aggressive Ajit has largely sheathed his claws when it comes to the BJP Deputy CM.