Ajit Pawar, Forever CM-In-Waiting, Pulls Off Sunday Shocker. What Led To His 'Rebellion' Against Sharad Pawar

Maharashtra NCP Crisis: Ajit Pawar's CM ambition, combined with disgruntlement against his uncle Sharad Pawar, seems to have been behind his rebellion.

Ajit Pawar pulled off a shocking rebellion against his uncle Sharad Pawar on Sunday by joining the Eknath Shinde Cabinet as the Deputy CM of Maharashtra.

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Maharashtra's political arena has been throwing up surprises every year. Ajit Anantrao Pawar on Sunday took oath as Maharashtra's Deputy CM for the fifth time in his political career. This is the first time that Pawar is sharing the post with Devendra Fadnavis. Till his oath-taking, he was still an NCP member and even brought at least 30 MLAs in support. Ajit Pawar's "rebellion" came just days after he expressed his desire to become the CM "right now". The shock move left the NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT) Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition red-faced.

The "rebellion" appears to have been in the works for nearly two months. Ajit Pawar had kept the political circles in suspense while dropping hints about his dissatisfaction within the NCP. His latest request to NCP chief Sharad Pawar to relieve him of the post of the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly was just another indication.

On Sunday, it was ironic to see Ajit Pawar being welcomed as the Deputy CM of Maharashtra by present Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP leader whose corruption allegations against Pawar forced him to step down from the same post in 2012.

It was also interesting to see Ajit Pawar taking oath in the Eknath Shinde government right before his NCP colleague Chhagan Bhujbal, whom he had pushed aside to become the Deputy CM of Maharashtra for the first time in 2010. So, what factors could have led to Ajit Pawar's rebellion?

A Strong Desire To Bag The CM Chair

It is no secret that Ajit Pawar is tired of being Maharashtra's CM-in-waiting for over a decade. Pawar has time and again directly expressed or dropped hints that he wants to be the CM of the state. However, the top post in the government has always eluded him. The move to join hands with the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis alliance could be an indication of a promise to him of a shared CM post in the times to come.

Disgruntlement With Sharad Pawar

The history of Ajit Pawar's disgruntlement against his uncle Sharad Pawar can be traced back to 2009 when Pawar vacated his Baramati Lok Sabha seat for daughter Supriya Sule — a clear indication of who his political heir would be. Sule had been brought back to India from Singapore by the senior Pawar just three years ago.

In 2009, Ajit had the opportunity to become the Deputy CM but was denied by Pawar senior. Chhagan Bhujbal was instead made the Deputy CM in the Ashok Chavan government. However, a little over a year later Bhujbal had to quit over allegations of corruption. Ajit Pawar seized this opportunity and lined up 62 MLAs in his support to become Maharashtra's eighth Deputy CM. However, he was always Sharad Pawar's second choice.

Two years later, Ajit Pawar had to resign from the Maharashtra Cabinet after a sustained campaign by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis. The BJP had then accused Ajit Pawar of being involved in a Rs 70,000-crore scam. The sustained campaign forced Pawar to step down as the Deputy CM. But he returned to the post three months later.

Denial of NCP Chief Post

Despite being the firebrand leader that Ajit Pawar is, he image has always been that of "Sharad Pawar's nephew". Ajit Pawar had stuck to Sharad Pawar since 1990-91. He even followed the senior Pawar when he broke away from the Congress in 1999 and formed the NCP. Since then, Ajit Pawar has fancied himself as Sharad Pawar's heir apparent. His ambition to follow in his uncle's footsteps and become the CM is well known. However, Sharad Pawar seems to be keen on pushing daughter Supriya Sule as his heir apparent.

Sharad Pawar's announcement on May 2 to step down as the NCP chief had kindled hopes in Ajit Pawar. He was hoping to take over as the party president. This was quite evident in his conduct that followed Sharad Pawar's resignation. When party workers asked Supriya Sule to talk to Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar suggested she not say anything, as reported by the media.

When the Pawars addressed a press conference, Ajit Pawar was seen irritated. Videos of him snatching a microphone from an NCP worker who was raising slogans in favour of Sharad Pawar and admonishing another who was pleading with the party founder went viral. Another clip of Ajit Pawar telling Supriya Sule: "Tu bolu nakko [Don't say anything," was also widely shared. Ajit Pawar was among the very few NCP leaders who did not ask Sharad Pawar to take back his resignation. However, his hopes were dashed when Sharad Pawar decided to go back on his decision.

However, the last straw for Ajit seems to have been the installation of Supriya Sule and Praful Patel as the working presidents of NCP by Sharad Pawar on June 11.

Friction Between The Fourth-Generation Pawars

The unremarkable debut of Ajit Pawar's son in the Lok Sabha was preceded by a period of intense friction in the Pawar family. While Sharad Pawar was against Ajit's son Parth contesting the assembly polls in 2019, Ajit insisted that his son must immediately enter politics. Ajit's insistence was due to the growing clout of another Pawar scion, Rohit, grandson of the NCP chief’s elder brother Appasaheb Pawar. Rohit is now an MLA from the Karjat-Jamkhed constituency. However, Parth lost the polls — the first Pawar to lose an election.

It remains to be seen now whether Sharad Pawar was indeed "unaware" of Sunday's shocker or was this something he orchestrated as part of a bigger plan. Devendra Fadnavis last week said that Sharad Pawar was fully aware of Ajit Pawar's coup in 2019. In response, Sharad Pawar said that Fadnavis was lying, but at the same time asserted that the coup helped bring an end to the President's Rule in Maharashtra. The BJP government that followed was short-lived and fell after three days as Fadnavis failed to prove majority. 

 

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