Sharad Pawar’s 3D-chess: Castling Ajit to checkmate the BJP?

Sharad Pawarrsquos decision to step down from the Nationalist Congress Partyrsquos leadership wasnrsquot taken in isolation His wife Pratibha daughter Supriya and nephew Ajit were kept in the loop before taking an unexpected route a nonpolitical function such as a book release to startle the first and second lines of leadership and the cadrePawar had come fully prepared He read from a written document which was circulated in English as well considering the national news value Following protest and emotional outburst of leaders and party workers Ajit told media persons that when the senior leaders met Sharad Pawar later in day he sought twothree days to rethink about reconsidering his decision to resign This calmed the youngsters who had sat in protest at Y B Chavan CentreAlso Read Maharashtra The bombshell that shook rankandfileNCP leaders Supriya Sule Ajit Pawar and others outside Y B Chavan Centre on Tuesday PicSayyed Sameer AbediWhat happens if Pawar withdraws his resignationWell nothing will change for the party whose members once again showed that the octogenarian meant the world to them In fact Tuesdayrsquos surprise declaration yielded an effect that any party boss would desire the most to establish his supremacy and control The incident has also passed a message to the detractors the disgruntled and the collaborators of rivals if any that any untoward move on their part would cost them dearly Political observers believe that Pawar expected such an impact when speculations of a split in the NCP refused to die down even after Ajit who once tried to split the NCP and almost joined forces with the BJP declared his lifelong commitment to the party The very Ajit was seen commanding the emotionally charged crowd albeit with some difficulty The element of distrust was visible when Ajit tried to convince the NCP workers to accept Pawarrsquos decision People wanted Surpriya to speak and request her father but she didnrsquot when Ajit stopped her That must have raised eyebrows because the family has been drawn into a battle of accession on many occasions despite the headrsquos denialWhat if the boss doesnrsquot returnFirstly the party will have to settle for a new leadership a stoic one or a rubber stamp Ajit clearly said on Tuesday he wasnrsquot interested in the post Then who else Supriya Ajit also said the leaders who tried convincing the boss later Tuesday suggested that a working president be appointed to share the workload of the national president who ultimately will be none other than Pawar himself If so then Pawar will be in total control as long as he wishes If Pawar has total control of the party and takes part in political activities strategising and campaigning without which the party isnrsquot expected to perform better in the upcoming elections the Maha Vikas Aghadi will also be getting a muchneeded pushPawarrsquos status in national politics is not expected to change much even if he doesnrsquot officially lead the NCP He is the kind of a leader who cannot rest as long as he has the strength and he breathes politics However he will be free to disown any decision that goes against his proclaimed position or the pre and postpoll alliance politics He may simply shrug off responsibility in case the most influential leader in the NCP rank we donrsquot need to identify goes against his advice if sought at all Though Congress and Shiv Sena leaders have said the leadership change will not affect their relationship with the NCP it is well known that some strong people in Pawarrsquos party have reservations about working with the Uddhav Sena in particular At the Delhi level the nationalturnedregional partyrsquos status will be weighed in terms of the Lok Sabha seats it wins the next year and in alliance with who Sharad Pawar managed to get the most even with a number less than 10 It would be interesting to see the NCPrsquos show without Pawar holding the presidencyKey threat nullifiedThere is another angle to Pawarrsquos shock treatment The parties which are attempting to weaken the NCP using various ways one of which is luring some top leaders away will have to consider the charged up NCP cadre and Pawarrsquos sympathisers who increased his number in 2019 Assembly polls to be in a position to experiment the MVA It is another story that the threeparty coalition collapsed and now it is attempting to rebuild it ahead of the next yearrsquos polls Pawar has certainly put his party in circulation at the right timeSharad Pawar A political timeline1956 Year Sharad Pawar called for a protest march on Goan Independence in Pravaranagar Maharashtra marked the beginning of his first recorded political activism at a young age1958 Pawar joined Youth Congress and demonstrated his support for the Congress Party1962 Became President of the Pune district Youth Congress1967 When Pawar was 27 years old he was nominated as a candidate for Assembly elections from Baramati constituency Pawar won the election and made it to the assembly from the thenundivided Congress Party1969 Congress faced a stumbling block within the party resulting in expulsion of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the party Following the split Pawar along with Yashwantrao Chavan became a part of Indira Gandhirsquos Indian National Congress Requisitionists faction197577 Sharad Pawar served as the home affairs minister in the govt of Shankarrao Chavan In later years when the Congress party again split into Congress I and Congress U Pawar sided with Congress U1978 In the runup to the state elections both factions of Congress participated separately but formed the government in the coalition supporting Vasantdada Patil against the Janata Party Pawar got the portfolio of Minister of Industry and Labour in the government led by Vasantdada Patil1978 At the age of 38 Pawar left Congress U to form a government with Janata Party and amid this Sharad Pawar became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 19781983 Pawar became the president of Congress I1984 He was elected to Lok Sabha from the Baramati parliamentary constituency1985 Pawar again won from the Baramati assembly constituency he decided to stay with Maharashtrarsquos state politicsmdashbecoming the leader of the opposition coalition PDFmdashas he resigned from the Lok Sabha seat1988 Pawar became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the second time1987 He returned to Congress I1990 Pawar became chief minister of Maharashtra for the third time1991 Pawar became the Defence Minister in the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao He handled the portfolio till 19931993 March Pawar became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the fourth time Pawar remained Chief Minister1999 Sharad Pawar along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from Congress for what has been described as the trio ldquoopposing Sonia Gandhirsquos as the presidentrdquo of Congress The same year in June Pawar along with Sangma founded Nationalist Congress Party However NCP came into coalition with the state Congress to form a government following the 1999 assembly elections to defeat Shiv SenaBJP2004 Pawar became Minister of Agriculture in the UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh2014 Pawarrsquos NCP lost in the state elections in which BJP was elected as the largest party in the election2019 Following state elections and after a whole lot of political crisis NCP Congress and Shiv Senarsquos coalition governmentmdashled by Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray as the chief ministermdashwas formed2020 Pawar was reelected as an MP to the Rajya Sabha2023 Pawar resigned as president of NCP