Ajit Pawar: Political player who split NCP to become deputy CM of Maharashtra for fifth time

The twists and turns in west Indian state Maharashtra's politics over the last four to five years has not been short of any movie plot. The political drama reached its zenith when the National Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister for the fifth time on Sunday (July 2).

This power scuffle has been going on in the state for the last three years. The last time Maharashtra politics took a steep turn was in November 2019, when Ajit’s underhand partnership with the BJP lasted a few days. On 23 November 2019, Pawar was sworn in as deputy chief minister with BJP, without NCP’s nod. He submitted papers with the signatures of NCP MLAs to the Governor of the State. He was on the post for less than 80 hours.

But this time, Pawar went full throttle against party lines with the support of over 40 of the NCP’s 53 MLAs. He chose to split the party even as his uncle and NCP leader Sharad Pawar was busy getting all opposition parties together to take on the BJP.

‘Triple engine’ Government?

Welcoming Ajit Pawar into the fold, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, "Now we have 1 chief minister and 2 deputy chief ministers. The double-engine government has now become triple engine. For the development of Maharashtra, I welcome Ajit Pawar and his leaders. Ajit Pawar's experience will help."

Shinde recently completed one year in office. He said that the parties in the government were united on the platform of state development. “Ajit Dada supported our development goals. During the previous Lok Sabha elections, NCP secured four-five seats, but it appears that they won’t get a single seat in the coming elections,” he remarked.

Ajit Pawar and the 'Brutus' moment in Maharashtra's NCP

Ajit Pawar, an influential leader in the NCP, is the nephew of the party’s supremo Sharad Pawar. He joined politics in 1982 when he was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory. He was then elected as a chairman of the Pune District Cooperative Bank (PDC) in 1991 and remained in the post for 16 years. During this period, he was also elected as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from the Baramati constituency.

Later on, Pawar vacated his Lok Sabha seat in favour of his uncle, Sharad Pawar, who had then become the defence minister in PV Narasimha Rao’s government. Later, he was elected as a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Baramati Assembly Constituency.

Pawar became the deputy CM in November 2010 for the first time after thwarting his uncle’s plan to give the position to the party’s senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal again. In a surprise move, he resigned in September 2012, following allegations against him in an irrigation scam, but came back within three months after obtaining a “clean chit” for himself from the then Congress-NCP government.

Despite being in several controversies, the seven-time MLA is popular among legislators. He is considered an expert in electoral management and has groomed many MLAs and even helped them to get elected. Even after the debut of Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule into politics, he was regarded as number two in the party.

Pawar’s intention of taking over the party was no secret. It came out into the open when he tried to silence leaders and workers who were persuading Sharad Pawar to take back his resignation as party chief on May 2.

Ajit Pawar and MVA

In December 2019, it was announced that Ajit Pawar would take over as deputy CM for the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) administration after the commencement of the winter session of the state legislature on December 16. But in 2022, due to Maharashtra’s political crisis, the Maha Vikas Agadi government collapsed due to an internal revolt in Shiv Sena.

After the rebellion, the Shiv Sena group and BJP formed the government with Eknath Shinde as the CM and Pawar became the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Ajit Pawar’s rebellion will change political course of the state

Pawar’s recent move will change the political course of the NCP-Congress, leaving the equation between the two parties dwindling in the stronghold of western Maharashtra. Pawar has a good following there and knows the powerful cooperation sector.

The BJP is desperate to make inroads into the sector, and with Ajit on board, it will be easier for it to vie for the 11 Lok Sabha and over 60 assembly seats in western Maharashtra. Even Supriya Sule’s Lok Sabha seat could be in danger, as Ajit has been handling affairs in Baramati.

(With inputs from agencies)

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