At 82, Sharad Pawar Continues To Be The Machiavelli Of Indian Politics

File photo of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar at an event in Mumbai. ( Image Source :Getty )

At an age when most of his contemporaries have either retired or have left the world, Sharad Pawar continues to call the shots in Maharashtra and national politics. Having survived cancer more than once, and undergone multiple surgeries, at the age of 82, his mind seems to be as young as a 25-year-old youngster. In 2019, when Maharashtra was witnessing an unprecedented political upheaval, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut famously commented — "One has to take a hundred births to understand the mind of Sharad Pawar.” Looking at the political career of Sharad Pawar, Raut’s statement doesn’t seem to be a hyperbole. Unpredictability, unscrupulousness, political expediency and the ambition to be in power at any cost have been the perennial attributes of his personality. The recent undercurrents in Maharashtra politics once again underline that Sharad Pawar continues to be Niccolo Machiavelli of the Indian politics.

Recently, Sharad Pawar shocked everyone when he openly came out in support of industrialist Gautam Adani after opposition parties like the Congress held agitations demanding an inquiry by a joint parliamentary committee against him, after certain revelations by the Hindenburg Research report. Pawar, in an interview, said Adani was being targeted and there was no need to set up such a committee.

Similarly, when the opposition parties were targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his educational degree, Pawar said it was a non-issue. Such an aberrant stand on issues targeting the BJP from somebody who is the tallest leader of the triparty MVA alliance, and who aspired to lead all opposition parties against the BJP in the 2024 general elections, was unpalatable for the political pundits. It fuelled speculation that Pawar is cosying up with the BJP for his next political move.

Such assumptions are not unfounded. In the past, Sharad Pawar has taken unpredictable decisions to keep his party, the NCP, in power and keep himself relevant in politics. Around three decades ago, in 1999, he split the Indian National Congress and founded his own party, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The pretext for breaking away was the Italian origin of then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. But the same Sharad Pawar, in the same year, forged an alliance with the Congress to share power in Maharashtra. To justify the move, he said the “foreign origin” issue is relevant at the Centre and not at the state level. However, in 2004, when UPA won power at the Centre, Pawar had no hesitation to become part of the government.

In 2014, the Shiv Sena and the BJP, who were partners for over two decades, fought the elections separately. The BJP emerged as the single largest party but was short of the magic figure of 145 out of 288 seats in the Vidhan Sabha. To everyone’s surprise, Pawar, who was the political nemesis of the BJP, came to the party’s rescue. During the trust motion, his party’s MLAs walked out, thereby lowering the majority figure and facilitating Devendra Fadnavis’ continuance as the chief minister. Later on, Shiv Sena too joined the government in a post-poll alliance.

Although Sharad Pawar facilitated the BJP to form the government, he kept a keen eye on the interpersonal relations between the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Soon, the acrimony between the two came to the fore. Shiv Sena leaders frequently gave anti-BJP statements and the party’s mouthpiece published strong editorials against the BJP. However, both the parties contested 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls in alliance. 

When the election results were out, the BJP again emerged as the single largest party with 105 seats. The Shiv Sena was in second position with 56 seats, the NCP won 54 seats and the Congress 44. As per the pre-poll alliance, there was a clear mandate for the BJP-Shiv Sena government. But a dispute arouse between the Shiv Sena and the BJP when Uddhav Thackeray demanded that his party should get the CM post for two and a half years. The BJP denied that any such commitment was made. 

Sharad Pawar, who was keeping a track of the developments, took this as an opportune moment and played his shot by offering the CM’s post to Uddhav. He told Uddhav that with the Congress and the NCP, there would be enough number of seats for Uddhav to run the government. Hence, the triparty Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was formed. Despite being third on the winning list, Sharad Pawar could bring his party to power. His nephew Ajit Pawar became the deputy chief minister and many key portfolios went to the NCP. It was said that though Uddhav was the CM, the remote control of the government remained in the hands of Sharad Pawar.

Now, the political situation in Maharashtra is once again in focus. Recently, Sanjay Raut, quoting Sharad Pawar in his weekly column in Saamana, wrote that there are attempts to break the NCP, and the BJP is using the central investigative agencies to pressurise the party leaders. This led to speculation that a faction led by Ajit Pawar would quit the NCP to join hands with the BJP. The suspense over the awaited order of the Supreme Court is also adding to the confusion. The political pundits opine that in case the Supreme Court rules adversely against the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and disqualifies its MLAs, his government will fall and Ajit Pawar would fill the shoes. Ajit Pawar, in a recent interview, said he was ready to become the CM.

In such a scenario, Sharad Pawar saying that “I am not sure about MVA’s future” has kept everyone guessing about his next move. However, in the political corridors of Maharashtra, there is a saying about him — "Sharad Pawar never does what he says, and never says what he does.” His unpredictability remains his biggest asset, and even at this age, he has a penchant as well as the ability to give shocks.

Jitendra Dixit is the West India editor of the ABP Network based in Mumbai.

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