Maharashtra 'Pawar' Play: Ajit Pawar's Rebellion Puts NCP Chief Sharad Pawar In Spot

It was November 23, 2019 and the intervening night of November 22 and November 22 was one of the busiest nights in Maharashtra's political circles. Though the state had voted in favour of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, the two parties had failed to reach a consensus on the face of the next chief minister and both were looking for alternatives to form the government. The BJP, somehow, believed that it had the backing of Ajit Pawar and the Nationalist Congress Party MLAs. Therefore, President's Rule in the state was revoked overnight and in an early morning ceremony, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as the CM and Ajit as his deputy. What next followed proved that the BJP underestimated Sharad Pawar's grip on the NCP. Despite Ajit Pawar's move, no NCP MLA dared to ditch senior Pawar and the BJP-Ajit Pawar alliance fell on its face, handing over an undeniable humiliation to the saffron party. 

Post that, the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress joined hands to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government with Ajit Pawar again getting the Deputy CM post. Fast forward to 2023, it was Ajit Pawar once again who rebelled against Sharad Pawar, but this time, some prominent faces including Praful Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal followed him in the mutiny. 

Ajit Pawar's fresh rebellion comes on the heels of a prolonged intra-party clash in the NCP. Earlier, Sharad Pawar had resigned from the party president's post and was later forced to take back the decision. He then rejigged the party posts snubbing Ajit Pawar while appointing Supriya Sule and Praful Patel as new working presidents. There have been reports of Ajit missing from many meetings of the party and speculations have long been in the air of him joining the BJP, which ultimately proved true on July 2 when he joined the Eknath Shinde government as Deputy CM. 

In 2021, the country witnessed the division of the Lok Janshakti Party into two factions- one led by Chirag Paswan and the other led by his uncle Pashupati Paras. Maharashtra has recently seen Shiv Sena getting split into two factions after Shinde's rebellion. Since the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction claims to have the support of 40 MLAs (or at least 29), the rebellion has shifted focus on Sharad Pawar and his command over the party. While NCP has moved a disqualification plea against the nine rebel MLAs, it will be interesting to see the next move by both sides. The development is also significant as it comes ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections and state assembly elections to be held next year. The question is - Can Sharad Pawar stop NCP's division into two parts? Whatever be the results, the development is surely bound to shape the politics of Maharashtra and the country.