Pawar’s decision could be turning point for NCP

Sharad Pawar’s unexpected decision to quit the post of party chief comes against the backdrop of two issues in the NCP.

The first of these is his nephew Ajit Pawar’s reported insistence on joining forces with the BJP, and the second is Pawar’s plan to put his daughter, Baramati MP Supriya Sule, in charge of the party.

The veteran politician’s stepping down as party chief—albeit with plans to do backseat driving—could prove to be a turning point for the party, provided he sticks to his decision. If he steps down and Sule becomes his successor, the NCP will not remain a unipolar party, which it is till now. But for now, Pawar has also shown that he is still in command of the party.

Tuesday’s developments assume significance against the background of the speculations that Ajit is keen to go with the BJP. Unlike in 2019, when he formed a short-lived government with the BJP, Ajit has more support in the party now for such a move. Several senior leaders such as Praful Patel, Ramraje Nimbalkar, Chhagan Bhujbal and MP Sunil Tatkare have been advising the senior Pawar to seriously consider Ajit’s idea, which he has refused so far. Although both he and Ajit have dismissed the speculations publicly, the uneasiness within the NCP is clearly visible, with at least a dozen of its leaders facing investigation by different central agencies and clearly fed up.

With pressure mounting on him, Pawar has announced his resignation and even appointed a committee to decide who will be the next chief of the party. “Pawar’s move has forced Ajit and other seniors to step back,” said a senior NCP legislator. “With the party rank and file expressing support for him and urging him to withdraw the resignation, the message is loud and clear: that he is still in command in the party. The reaction on the faces of the leaders who are in favour of the NCP going with the BJP said it all. They were surprised by his decision. Whether this will prevent the MLAs from siding with Ajit remains to be seen. For now, Pawar has scored over them.”

Since 2019, Pawar and Ajit have been involved in a power tussle within the party. First, it was over giving Lok Sabha candidature to Ajit’s son Parth. Pawar was not keen on this but had to give in to the pressure mounted by Ajit. After the 2019 assembly elections, as the MVA was being established, Ajit tried to form a government with the BJP which was short-lived. Now there have been speculations about him trying to join forces with the BJP.

Since Ajit’s rebellion in 2019, Pawar has ensured more involvement of Sule and state president Jayant Patil in organisational matters of the party. Several key appointments have been made by them. It was more or less clear to party insiders that Sule, not Ajit, would be his political heir, and this has been by and large accepted by senior leaders of the party. It has been clearly visible for some time that Sule was being groomed to take up a bigger role in the party.

Pawar’s decision and the possible elevation of Sule could mean two power centres in the NCP in the coming days, and the party could be torn between Ajit and Sule if both are not on the same page. This is particularly significant as in the current circumstances, Sule is among those who are strongly against joining hands with the BJP. Ajit’s aides insist that the majority of party MLAs will stand by him because he has been handling the party on ground, especially election management, for years now.

“Going by what happened on Tuesday, Pawar has shown that he calls the shots in the NCP,” opined Padmabhushan Deshpande, a Mumbai-based political analyst. “He will continue to give directions to the party. However, in the long term, this means he will be taking a backseat, paving the way for the new leadership.”