Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 16: The relations between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra seems to have developed strains with the followers of Sharad Pawar expressing disdain over new allegations being levelled against the veteran leader despite he having repeatedly cleared doubts about his relations with the BJP.
Even after Sharad Pawar made it clear several times that his NCP would not join hands with the BJP at any cost, some Congress leaders on Wednesday claimed of some “secret understanding” between the BJP and the rebel NCP leader and veteran leader’s nephew Ajit Pawar, who is the deputy chief minister in the Shiv Sena (Shinde) – BJP government in Maharashtra.
While some Congress leaders claimed that through Ajit Pawar, the BJP has offered Sharad Pawar to join the Narendra Modi cabinet at the centre, another leader claimed that Ajit Pawar had been offered the chief ministership of Maharashtra if he could win over the veteran leader and bring the entire NCP on the BJP side.
The Congress was sceptical about Sharad Pawar’s recent meeting with Ajit at the residence of a businessman friend in Pune. It was the fourth meeting between the uncle and nephew since Ajit rebelled against the party leadership and joined Sena-BJP government taking away a section of the NCP MLAs with him.
Angry NCP leaders questioned repeated doubts and confusion in the minds of the Congress leaders even after the veteran leader personally cleared the air. Commenting on the Pune meeting, MP Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, said the NCP chief had already given his reply on the matter. “As for the meeting itself, there is nothing unusual about it. The Chordia and Pawar families have a bond stretching back almost 60 years,” she said.
“I think when Pawar saaheb himself has repeatedly clarified the matter, all further discussions on it must stop,” Rohit Pawar, the NCP patriarch’s grand-nephew and a loyalist of the leader, said. As for Sharad Pawar, the veteran leader again on Wednesday trashed the claims that he has been offered a Union Minister post in exchange of deserting the INDIA bloc and tying up with the BJP.
The meeting took place at a Pune businessman’s residence on Saturday, over a month after Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP leaders joined the Eknath Shinde-led government backed by the BJP. Since then, both factions are in tussle to control the NCP. The meeting sparked speculation that Ajit Pawar may be trying to convince Sharad Pawar, a key face of opposition’s INDIA bloc, to shift his allegiance. Pawar later said some “well-wishers” were trying to convince him to tie up with the BJP, but added that he had no such plan.
Maharashtra Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid a condition before Ajit Pawar that he could be made the Maharashtra chief minister only if he could convince the veteran leader to join the NDA. “It is believed that PM Narendra Modi has made this condition to Ajit Pawar that he can be the CM only if Sharad Pawar comes over to the NDA. Else, his [Ajit Pawar’s] dreams of being the CM will only remain a dream. Hence, it is possible that Ajit Pawar is repeatedly meeting his uncle in a bid to win him over to his side,” Wadettiwar said.
The Congress leader further alleged that even after splitting two parties — the NCP and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena — the BJP still felt the need to have a tall leader like Sharad Pawar with mass appeal on its side. When asked whether the repeated meetings had an impact on the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faction, Wadettiwar said he hoped Sharad Pawar would definitively clear the air over the matter.
Lok Sabha MP and Ajit Pawar faction leader Sunil Tatkare rubbished suggestions of either the BJP or the NCP imposing any conditions before the induction of their NCP faction in the government. “Many leaders who have been commenting on the meeting between Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar are throwing dignity to the winds. Despite Sharad Pawar himself clarifying his stance that the meeting was a family affair, MVA leaders from the Congress and Sena (UBT) are making improper remarks,” Tatkare said.
Umesh Patil, spokesperson of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction, said it was “laughable” that Wadettiwar could claim to know what was going on in Modi’s mind. “There have been no conditions imposed in Ajit Pawar joining the government. Had there been such a condition, then he would not have taken oath as Deputy CM. Looking at the overall situation, it is the BJP which needs a capable leader like Ajit Pawar with them for Modi to return as Prime Minister in 2024,” Patil said.
The meetings between uncle and nephew have also triggered speculation that the Congress and UBT-Sena may contest the polls without the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction. While stating there was certainly an atmosphere of doubt and confusion among the electorate regarding the uncle-nephew meetings, Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said the MVA alliance had not yet been affected as a result.
“The NCP has said these meetings are a family affair. Likewise, we have not yet reached any decision that the Congress and Sena (UBT) would fight alone nor is there any ‘plan B’ regarding contesting the polls without Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction. However, it is better if this prevailing confusion is dispelled as soon as possible,” he said.
Asked about Chavan’s remark, Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday, “I have no idea what the former CM said. There was no such discussion. I am not denying that meeting happened, but as the head of the family, I speak to all family members. These are just rumours but there’s no reality in any of these things being said.”
The meeting, meanwhile, has led to unease within the alliance between the Congress, NCP and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). Sanjay Raut, MP and aide of Uddhav Thackeray, has said Pawar was the “Bhishma Pitamaha” of Maharashtra politics and he “should not do anything that creates doubt in the minds of people.”
The tension within the alliance is unwelcome especially in the run-up to the next meeting of INDIA bloc in Mumbai. Pawar has re-confirmed that the meeting will take place on August 31 and a sabha will be held the next day. Targeting the BJP, he accused it of trying to divide the people.
“The central government has issued a new circular regarding CBSE where they have said that 14th August will be remembered as partition horrors remembrance day. While the society is trying to get out of the bitterness we faced during that time, this government has issued this circular. It is clear that it wants to spread bitterness among masses and divide the society,” he said.
The veteran politician also accused the BJP of trying to destabilise elected governments. “Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are examples where they destabilised the government,” he said. On the Manipur situation, Mr Pawar said, “It’s been over 99 days. The PM spoke about Manipur for three minutes outside Parliament and for just five minutes during his speech against non-confidence motion.”
“I hoped that PM would speak about this in 15th August speech, but it seems like PM is following into the footsteps of Devendra Fadnavis and said ‘Mi Punha Yein’ (I will come back). He doesn’t care about the northeast but cares about how he will come back,” he said.
The comment was a reminder of what BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis’ “Mi Punha Yein” remark ahead of the 2019 Maharashtra polls. The remark had gone viral after the Shiv Sena, then led by Uddhav Thackeray, parted ways with the BJP and joined the NCP and Congress to form the government. Fadnavis was then mocked by trolls for being overconfident. He finally responded when Uddhav Thackeray government was toppled by the Eknath Shinde-led rebellion, saying his revenge is to forgive those who trolled him.
