“Circus” in Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar, Eight NCP Legislators Join Shinde – Fadnavis Government

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, July 2: In a surprising turn of events, Nine Nationalist Congress Party legislators led by Ajit Pawar on Sunday extended support to the Eknath Shinde government and were promptly inducted in the cabinet. While Pawar was sworn-in as the second deputy chief minister, eight others took oath as ministers.

It was the second back-stabbing by Ajit Pawar against his uncle Sharad Pawar in three years after he had rebelled against the party leadership and had taken oath as deputy chief minister in the BJP cabinet headed by Devendra Fadnavis. The bonhomie, however, lasted only three days before Ajit Pawar returned to the NCP fold and the party formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with Shiv Sena and Congress as partners with Ajit Pawar again taking over as deputy chief minister.

Among the eight NCP legislators to switch sides with Ajit Pawar were close aides of the party patriarch Sharad Pawar like Dilip Walse-Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal who took oath as ministers in the Shinde-Fadnavis-Pawar government.

Even as Sharad Pawar who termed the developments as “circus,” told media persons that he was not shocked over the turn of events as he anticipated his nephew’s rebellion mood, Ajit Pawar after taking oath said he and his supporters have not resigned from the NCP and would contest the next elections on NCP ticket and symbol. Claiming that the entire NCP was in favour of extending support to the Shiv Sena (Shinde) – BJP government, he said “We have the blessings of everyone in the party.” A top NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s “camp,” however, insisted that the party president was not supporting Ajit Pawar.

The swearing-in of Ajit Pawar and his eight colleagues not only exposed their hunger for power, it also meant that Maharashtra has seen four oath-taking ceremonies in as many years at its stately Raj Bhavan and it was second poaching of the opposition parties in Maharashtra by the BJP after it enforced a vertical split in the Shiv Sena last tear to return to power in the state. Elections to the 288-member State Assembly are due next year.

The political development comes a year after a revolt led by Shinde against the Shiv Sena (then undivided) led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

“I never knew Ajit Pawar had given his resignation as Leader of Opposition [in the Legislative Assembly]. He certainly has not told us anything…he may have tendered his resignation to LoP to the Speaker,” Sharad Pawar said. Saying that he was not worried for what happened on Sunday, senior Pawar said, “I’m getting phones from leaders of several parties including Mamata Banerjee and Mallikarjun Kharge. So, I am not worried about what happened. Just wait for eight-ten days more,” says Sharad Pawar following his nephew Ajit Pawar joining hands with Shinde-Fadnavis government and being sworn in as a Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Talking to media persons, Sharad Pawar said, “Some days before, prime minister Narendra Modi had targeted the NCP by remarking that the NCP wallowed in corruption while mentioning the Maharashtra Cooperative Bank scam and the Maharashtra irrigation scam. Today, I am happy that his party, the BJP has sworn-in some members of the NCP as part of the government… I am thankful to the PM for having freed the NCP from his accusations,” Sharad Pawar said.

Sunday afternoon’s events in Mumbai, with the NCP splitting and much of its senior leadership joining the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra, are not just being seen as a blow to the MVA alliance in the State but also to the attempts to forge a larger opposition unity nationally.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) slammed Modi on Sunday by calling him the “biggest patron of corruption” after Ajit Pawar along with eight others from the party joined the Shinde-led government. Reacting to the development, AAP national spokesperson Sanjay Singh hit out at the prime minister on Twitter. “Narendra Modi is the biggest patron of corruption in the country,” the Rajya Sabha MP said in a tweet in Hindi.

Two days after the Prime Minister gave a guarantee of action against corruption, Pawar was appointed as the deputy chief minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government in Maharashtra and Bhujbal also inducted into the cabinet, Singh said.

Ajit Pawar affirmed that all MLAs were standing united with them, with the party’s support and the awareness of senior leaders. “In a democracy, the majority holds the key. It is evident that a single party alone cannot form the government in Maharashtra, a scenario witnessed since the 1990s,” he said.

Bhujbal said, “As the third party, we have joined the government. Some individuals claim that we have divided the party, but that is incorrect. We are here as the NCP, united in our purpose. While we have voiced criticisms against the Modi government on various occasions, it is undeniable that the safety and security of our nation are entrusted in his leadership.”

Ajit Pawar pointed said if the NCP in Nagaland could support the BJP, “there is no reason why we cannot do the same here. Our commitment is to work towards the progress and welfare of Maharashtra, and we are ready to undertake all necessary measures to achieve that goal.” He said some NCP MLAs were out of the country, “but I have personally reached out to all of them and had discussions regarding our decision. I am pleased to state that they are in agreement with our stance.” He said there would be more cabinet expansion where others would be made ministers too, he added.

The NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said the oath taken by nine NCP MLAs as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government did not enjoy the official support of the party. In a video message, Tapase said NCP’s party workers, district president, taluka president, youth and women are with party’s national leader Sharad Pawar. “The oath-taking ceremony in Maharashtra was part of Operation Lotus and it has no official support of NCP. Those who took oath, it is their personal decision and not that of the NCP,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut has said “This is not a political earthquake. Some things that were bound to happen in the future have happened. From this it is clear that the Shinde-Fadnavis govt is uneasy. Even after claiming to have the support of 170 MLAs, they need Ajit Pawar and his group to prop them up.” “This can only mean that Eknath Shinde and his MLAs stand to be disqualified and Shinde will soon be losing his CM’s post.”

Besides Ajit Pawar, Bhujbal and Walse-Patil, others to take oath as ministers included Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Sunil Tatkare. Aatram Dharamraobaba Bhagwantrao, Sanjay Bansode and Anil Patil.