Sharad Pawar knows which way wind is blowing: Devendra Fadnavis

“The PM had said ‘Sharad Pawar hawa ka rukh bhab lete hain’ (Sharad Pawar can sense which way the wind is blowing)’,” he added. Fadnavis was referring to the PM’s speech during a function in Pune a few months ago.

A BJP leader said: “Pawar is a senior and experienced leader with 50 years of political experience. If he has taken a decision to withdraw, it cannot be without any definite reason.”

“If Pawar was not serious about contesting, why did he last month announce that only he and daughter Supriya Sule would contest from the NCP?” asked another BJP leader.

“It is clear that Pawar does not want to lose in the poll ring and thereby avoid a moral defeat,” said BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.

In 2009, Pawar had won the Madha seat by a margin of over 3.14 lakh votes. “He has been winning all the time, but the situation is different this time. He feared losing as the NCP was in tatters and BJP had got its act right,” said Bhandari.

A senior Shiv Sena leader said: “Pawar’s decision has made many wonder, as he was at the forefront of the Opposition Mahagathbandhan. He was working to bring all regional parties to rally around Congress.”

“Was it due to pressure from the family to pave way for Parth Pawar (Ajit Pawar’s son) or was the Madha seat getting too hot for the NCP following factionalism in the party. Or was Pawar never serious about contesting?” the leader asked.

The Congress, the ally of NCP, described the developments as an internal matter of the party. A leader said, “Sharad Pawar is the NCP president and it is entirely up to him whether he wants to contest or not. It is not going to make any impact on our alliance (with NCP).”

State Congress chief Ashok Chavan said: “We have no clue why he has decided to opt out. He is an experienced leader and he must have taken the decision based on ground realities… It could be a Pawar-play.”

Following Pawar’s announcement, state NCP leaders went into a huddle in Mumbai. Party national spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “Pawarsaab has already said that he did not want many candidates from one family in the elections. Beyond this we have nothing to add.”

NCP MP Vandana Chavan, who is close to the Pawar family, said Pawar opting out of the race is in line with his repeated statements that he does not want to contest anymore. “Even I had requested him to contest from Pune. But he told me that he would not contest anymore and that younger party colleagues should be given an opportunity,” she added.

Another NCP leader said, “Initially, Pawar may have thrown his hat to tackle the differences between the young and old leaders… However, after putting the house in order, Pawar may have decided to withdraw.”

When contacted, Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, the sitting NCP MP from Madha, said he did not know why Pawar withdrew from the race. “Our party chief has said everything at the press conference… I don’t want to add anything more,” he said when asked whether infighting has made Pawar change his mind.

In January, the NCP chief had said that no other Pawar except him and Supriya would contest Lok Sabha elections. In February, he had said there was pressure on him from Solapur leaders to contest from Madha. “Nobody should worry about Madha… I will take care of it,” Pawar had said.