A secret that never was

Ajit Pawar meets Sharad Pawar in a discrete manner in Pune, but the act is revealed; it’s anybody’s guess why he is trying to convince his uncle

The Pawars—uncle and nephew—continue to keep politics simmering. A meeting between them in Pune on Saturday, to be kept a top secret, has sent many tongues wagging yet again. Ajit Pawar attempted to dodge the media while exiting a real estate baron’s palatial bungalow, the venue for the meeting, but his driver dashed against the gate and reversed the black sedan, giving a media posse stationed outside a few seconds to identify the ‘ducking’ passenger. The deputy chief minister’s ‘known’ car had left the venue without a passenger. His security detail was missing for the obvious reasons. The Sharad Pawar group’s state president Jayant Patil was also spotted. His images were shown on television screens. Pawar senior’s presence and exit were also confirmed by media persons in Pune.

Testing convincing power

Before this event, a couple of back-to-back meetings between the leaders, separated but still cordial to each other, had happened in full view of other rebel MLAs and ministers. The cover the Ajit group had taken then was that they wanted the blessings of the senior who they held close to their hearts (notwithstanding that some rebels had opened a verbal fire against the octogenarian after joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government). Actually, Ajit and his ilk had urged Pawar to let them be (in power) and allow the ‘reluctant’ others to move in with them.

Sharad Pawar had rejected the plea, and insisted that he would work against the ruling NDA through a new national front. However, following these meetings in Mumbai, a sense of reconciliation was seen in the two groups during the monsoon session of the legislature.  Sources said, at Pune’s discussion, Ajit had tried yet again to convince the uncle to let the remaining MLAs and MPs join him for the party’s betterment. His earlier attempts had failed, but he hasn’t stopped yet.

The Dy CM and the government he is part of worked as if they had no opposition in the monsoon session and the NCP split was unreal. Confusion was writ large in the power corridors. The associates in the Opposition bloc grew a sense of distrust. One more meeting may happen in the coming days, said the people in the know. Little wonder then, the latest ‘secret’ meeting will give the trust factor a further dent ahead of the I.N.D.I.A conclave in Mumbai. Some leaders in the Congress were sceptical, as always, about Pawar senior’s next move ahead of this meeting to be held on August 31 and September 1.

A family meeting

But Sharad Pawar came out with a  strong rebuttal and confirmed his participation in the INDIA meeting. He said that though some wellwishers were trying to communicate with him, he and his NCP had no intention of supporting the BJP. “I hope you know that Ajit Pawar is my nephew. I’m the father figure in the Pawar family, and this figure meeting a family member cannot be a subject of news. This was not a secret meeting,” he told media persons.

Interestingly, former CM Prithviraj Chavan said that such meetings cannot be a family matter in the wake of an Ajit-triggered split. Whether or not Ajit Pawar fails or succeeds in his mission, this is exactly the confusion, distrust and uncertainty that he and his new political masters would want to see prevail in the Opposition camp.

Shinde vs Pawar, really?

Whatever Ajit Pawar has said about not running a cold war with CM Eknath Shinde cannot be ignored for its long-term impact on the psyche of the Shinde camp. The Dy CM told the media persons in no uncertain terms that as the finance minister he had all powers to review/monitor infra projects. But he said he didn’t intend to undermine the CM’s authority in any way. His office issued a statement saying the Dy CM’s own monitoring unit will continue to review projects every fortnight for their progress and fund availability.

“The Dy CM’s effort is supplementary to the CM’s war room,” it said, indicating that there would be no stopping Ajit Pawar. On the political front, the Dy CM has been focusing his energies on the segments held by the Shinde Sena. People in the know said tension would grow for the CM’s group that has been feeling uneasy ever since the NCP’s experienced splinter joined the government. The Ajit group’s outreach could be wider if more from the uncle’s camp bond with the rebels. Currently, it’s a honeymoon period for the Ajit group and the BJP.

Amid speculations and allegations, Shinde had been in his native in Satara since Thursday, apparently not keeping well because of blood pressure issues. He skipped an event in Pune that was attended by the Dy CMs and Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. He hadn’t returned to Mumbai until Sunday afternoon. He didn’t issue any statement when Opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar accused Ajit of overruling the CM’s authority and said that Shinde had taken a break because he was upset over the finance minister’s actions. The other Dy CM, Devendra Fadnavis, has not taken a position over the controversy.  In all possibilities, Fadnavis seems to have devised his own way to monitor the state projects, most of which were planned when he was the chief minister.

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