Bruised by Pawar vs Pawar tussle, Supriya Sule’s NCP prospects come under shadow

Pawar appointed Sule and senior leader Praful Patel as the party’s national working presidents in the former’s presence.

Both Ajit and Sule have avoided making comments against each other since the NCP’s split. Sule said, “It is unfortunate. But our relationship will remain unchanged as he (Ajit) is my elder brother.”

Ajit has also refrained from making any personal comments against Pawar or Sule, maintaining that “Majority of MLAs in the party wanted to be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-driven development politics”.

On his part, the 82-year-old Pawar has resolved to step up his efforts to “rebuild” the party as he has embarked on a statewide visit to reach out to the people.

At the NCP’s plenary session held in Delhi on June 10, Pawar appointed Sule as the NCP working president and gave her the organisational charge of Maharashtra, which marked the start of a new innings in her political career.

It was also perceived as a clear signal to the party rank and file that Sule would be the heir of the Maratha stalwart’s political legacy.

To pre-empt the charge of nepotism, Pawar also appointed the then party vice president Praful Patel as another working president. It was a balancing act, which was taken to avoid any backlash from the party’s old guard.

Her elevation was a golden opportunity for Sule to establish her leadership within the NCP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections. To capitalise on it, she also launched an intensive field work after setting out on a state tour. Projected as a strong woman leader with modern outlook and commitment to inclusive politics and secularism, she has been seen as a promising NCP leader.

A section within the NCP also believes that Sule has the potential of becoming the first woman CM of Maharashtra if the Opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) clinches the Assembly polls with the NCP emerging as its lead player.

That the party was heading in this direction was evident as Pawar raked up the issue of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies. Instead of pushing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the Centre should pass and implement the women reservation legislation, he said.

Some NCP insiders said all this would have worked as per the script for Sule if Pawar had not handed over the charge of Maharashtra to her. Said one of them: “Being the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Ajit’s hold over the NCP Legislature Party was known to everyone. Any attempt to curtail his power when it came to decision-making in Maharashtra was bound to trigger a strong reaction.”

The Ajit camp then sensed that there was a “ploy” to “systematically sideline him or clip his wings” in the NCP affairs, sources said.

Pawar has been the mentor of both Ajit and Sule. While Ajit has been deeply rooted in rural Maharashtra, Sule came across as the party’s urban face. However, this contrast was blurred over the years as she made her electoral debut from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in 2009, going on to win for consecutive three times since then.

Sule got the Baramati seat on a platter from Pawar, who had represented the constituency since 1990s without ever losing it. She was also supported by Ajit, who was then already politically established as a cabinet minister and an MLA from the Baramati Assembly segment.

In NCP circles, Pawar was always seen to have clearly defined the roles of his family members in the party affairs, with Ajit entrusted with handling Maharashtra politics and Sule mandated with representing the party in national politics.

This worked well for both the NCP as well as the Pawar family until political aspirations upset this delicate balance of power, with some NCP insiders saying that the move to elevate Sule and downgrade Ajit’s role set off the turmoil.

It is to be seen how the battle between Pawar and Ajit for the control of the NCP, which the former founded in 1999, plays out. The outcome of this conflict would have a crucial bearing on Sule’s political future.