The Ajit Pawar saga is laughable and also seems to be unending. After the Maharashtra state Assembly election in 2019, the BJP –Shiv Sena combine fell apart on the issue of who shall become the Chief Minister. At that time, Ajit Pawar took a dramatic step and claiming support of majority NCP MLAs supported formation of a Devendra Fadnavis led BJP government in which Ajit became Deputy CM. This move of the nephew against his uncle Sharad Pawar surprised most political observers. However, this pleased the top leadership of the BJP who instantly took steps to withdraw all corruption cases that were being processed in different courts against Ajit. Soon after, the cases were withdrawn from the courts officially.
Immediately after this, the NCP faction led by Ajit returned to the original NCP fold and helped form the Maha Vikash Agadi (MVA) government headed by Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray. In that government too, Ajit became Deputy CM. Then came the June 2022 split in the Shiv Sena. Uddhav’s close associate Eknath Shinde broke the legislative party and walked away with a large number of MLAs and joined the BJP to form a coalition government that had Eknath as Chief Minister and Devendra as Deputy CM. Ajit became the Leader of the Opposition.
Till recent past, Ajit seemed to be cooling his heels till he publicly expressed his desire to head the Maharashtra state unit of NCP. His desire was made public only after Sharad Pawar announced that he will no longer continue as the NCP chief. The presence of Sharad’s daughter Supriya Sule seems to have disturbed Ajit. Possibly Sharad wished to handover the baton to his daughter rather than his nephew Ajit. A similar situation had arisen when Balasaheb Thackeray had preferred his son Uddhav to head Shiv Sena rather than his nephew Raj Thackeray. At that time, Raj seemed more eligible but could not hold on to the original Shiv Sena. With the present NCP, the story seems to be different because Ajit has managed to take the bulk of the legislative party while defecting and joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government.
The constant treacherous nature displayed by Ajit Pawar exposes the core values of almost all politicians across India today. Without any empathy for the well being of the citizens and lacking any economic policies that would help the state and the nation to develop, politicians today are open to make any compromise for securing power. Not only power, present situation displays extreme fear of central investigating agencies which is making politicians do the unimaginable. Ajit Pawar’s past shows the murkiest of political histories. His past deeds would have made him an extremely soft target for the kind of vengeful politics being displayed by the BJP. Whether willingly or unwillingly, Ajit’s frequent change of loyalties has condemned the NCP to ignominy. His summersaults will also ensure his own political future will be dwarfed.
The Ajit Pawar drama might be a precursor to many other political rearrangements in other states. Take for example the arrest of a minister in the Stalin led DMK government of Tamil Nadu or the corruption charges brought and arrests made of senior AAP ministers in the Delhi government. Citizens remember about the multiple pending allegations against the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister KCR, the sword of corruption hanging over the CM of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy while not forgetting the charges against DK Shivakumar, the newly appointed Deputy CM of Karnataka. These corrupt pressure points could create opportunities for the BJP to form new political alliances before the 2024 general elections.