Days after saying he did not want to get into a debate on the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to give the Shiv Sena name and symbol to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Sharad Pawar on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the polling body. Pawar’s comments came on a day when the Supreme Court declined to stay the EC’s order and extended the Commission's permission granted to the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) to retain its name and "flaming torch" symbol till further orders. “I have never seen the EC take away absolute control of one party. In the past, there have been instances when political parties were divided. We saw the Congress (O) and the Congress (I). The late Indira Gandhi who took the party name Congress (I) took the hand symbol. When the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was parting ways with the Congress, we took a new title and the clock symbol. Nobody ever claimed the rights over the original party and its symbol,” said the NCP president. Pawar went on to say, “In the present case, the issue is who is taking the decision. Is it the EC? Or is there someone powerful above who is guiding the EC to a particular decision? Whenever there is excess misuse of power, people will give befitting replies when they get the right opportunity. The people will teach them (those misusing power) a lesson.” In a message to former CM Uddhav Thackeray and his supporters, Pawar told the media at Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district, where bypolls will be held on February 26, “I have travelled in Ahmednagar, Sangli, and other parts of Maharashtra and interacted with people. I gather this sense that people are not liking what has happened. The elected MLAs and MPs may have moved from Thackeray to the Shinde faction but the committed Shiv Sainiks will remain with Uddhav Thackeray 100 per cent.” While Pawar’s larger agenda seems to be keeping the larger secular coalition intact in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections next year, another strategy likely at work is using any sympathy for Uddhav and consolidating its foothold in territories the Uddhav Sena may cede because of the split. In the immediate scheme of things, Pawar will be hoping to use the recent developments to his party’s advantage in Pimpri-Chinchwad where differences had emerged between the NCP and Uddhav’s party. In the end, the NCP prevailed and its candidate Nana Kate is in the fray while the Uddhav Sena’s initial choice Rahul Kalate is contesting as an Independent. With his comments on Uddhav, Pawar will be hoping to tap into the Sena vote base. The NCP chief’s comments will also be studied with interest by the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena coalition. Referring to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ comment that Pawar knew about his nephew Ajit Pawar‘s short-lived defection to the BJP’s side in November 2019, the NCP chief said, “All I can say there was one good outcome as President’s rule was lifted. Once that happened, it paved the way for Uddhav Thackeray's swearing-in as CM.” His comment prompted Fadnavis to say that the NCP chief should also explain why President's Rule was imposed in the state in the first place after the 2019 Assembly polls. “The NCP president should reveal at whose behest President's Rule was enforced in Maharashtra post elections. If he reveals the details things will become clearer.”
