Maharashtra: Uncle, nephew and a ‘test’ match or two!

NCP leader Ajit Pawar, seen with party colleague Supriya Sule, tries to convince party workers to not urge NCP chief Sharad Pawar to take back his resignation, on May 2, at YB Chavan Centre. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

They say all is well with the NCP. It certainly seems so, at least optically. Party boss Sharad Pawar had pulled the curtains on last week's three-day political drama by revoking his decision to quit as the national president. Instead of selecting a successor, the party committee had rejected the octogenarian's desire to retire from organisational work. It also knocked down the idea of having a working president to share Pawar's responsibility. The binge-watched soap opera continued till the afternoon of the third day, raising expectations of a few more highly-charged episodes, thanks again to Ajit Pawar, who was absent at his uncle's media conference that made party workers gung-ho about future battles under the star-studded commander. The uncle and nephew did a lot of explaining later, and yet it appears that the latter might have to pass many more tests to clear all doubts.

Varied inferences were drawn after the party chief's roll-back. For some it was a move scripted to show how deep-rooted Pawar's influence was; that Pawar had no alternative in the party and the ploy worked to check a harmful rivalry in the NCP and shattered the plans, of some, to switch over to the BJP sooner or later. Others felt the leader genuinely wanted to quit, but relented reluctantly due to statewide protests demanding the rollback and the overwhelming trust of NCP workers and the warmth of leaders of other parties. All the rest set aside, the consensus is that Pawar will get the party prepared to accept the change of guard, not in the near future, but sometime after next year's elections. He has made it clear that he would be working on a succession plan for every post and responsibility. Let's assume that family members are also among the probables.

Also Read: Will meet Nitish Kumar during his Mumbai visit: Sharad Pawar

Until then, what would Ajit be doing in terms of clearing doubts? A lot, say political observers and people in the NCP. If Ajit were to change the perception that his preference for the BJP is only because he wants insulation from law-enforcing Central agencies, he must be ready to face the consequences that other leaders, in the NCP and other Opposition parties, have met with, supposedly after locking horns with the political opponents. Secondly, murmurs that the Opposition leader in the Assembly should be more aggressive in the legislature against the government, the BJP in particular, don't die easily. So, he would need to bat on the front foot, and not play defensive or aim for a draw.

His unpredictable moves, either supercharged with emotion or completely devoid of sentiment, make his political personality difficult to understand. At times, things have gone against him. They could still do, no matter what he does.

MNS president Raj Thackeray attributed Sharad Pawar's backtracking to Ajit's ‘rude' behaviour that was on full display while asking leaders, workers and cousin Supriya to not urge the leader to withdraw. "Pawar saw what he [Ajit] did, and must have thought if he [the nephew] could be so arrogant now, he could do worse when I'm not there [as the president]," Raj said at a public rally in Ratnagiri. Ajit is known for his brash ways and his party may not mind his roughness, but for others, the behaviour could be no less than incivility.

Both Sharad Pawar and Ajit have dismissed the speculations. Pawar said Ajit had been misunderstood because of his media shyness. "He is not media-friendly. I speak whenever I meet you [media]. But Ajit believes in working on the ground. He is not a person who wants publicity every morning. He doesn't care about it," the uncle said.

Ajit said the speculations won't end as long as he is asked questions about his ‘so called' defection plan. "It's the handiwork of people who presumably love me most. They don't like what I do for the people," he said, endorsing the uncle's observation.

Any guesses who Ajit's ardent ‘lovers' are?

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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