Was Ajit Pawar a Trojan Horse, wonders Modi’s party now
BJP IS TRYING TO ASCERTAIN IF PAWAR SENIOR’S MOVE WAS A SCRIPTED COUP IN MAHARASHTRA
Ajit Pawar, in an early morning ‘jhappi’ (hug) with his cousin Supriya Sule at the Maharashtra Legislature on Wednesday, furnished due optics that the “estranged” NCP leader is back in the fold. Later in the day, he attended the NCP legislative party meeting and addressed the MLAs, saying that he never left the party. Sources say that he is being tipped as the party floor leader in due course.
But his abrupt change in course has led to eyebrows being raised and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Eknath Khadse questioning former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his decision to align with the allegedly tainted Pawar junior. The question doing the rounds within the BJP now is whether Ajit Pawar’s “defection” was meant to lure the BJP in forming the government, before he jumped ship midway.
While the BJP has been caught unawares of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s moves and that the fact that the junior Pawar had succumbed to pressure so soon has caused doubts in many BJP leaders, said an insider.
‘Clean chit’
The BJP is trying to ascertain if the moves made by Pawar senior were a scripted coup which the party could not anticipate, said a leader. While the NCP chief has been the biggest gainer with Ajit Pawar getting a “clean chit” from the AntiCorruption Bureau and daughter Supriya Sule getting settled as ‘Gen Next’ leader as she was seen receiving the assembly.
The Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, who has been in the shadows of her father and cousin has emerged the undisputed heir apparent of the NCP patriarch. With the “revolt” of the junior Pawar, the NCP supremo has given a subtle message to the alliance partners that without him, the government can fall any day. all the MLAs in
Succumbed to persuasion
But Ajit Pawar has also proved that he has clout in his party. On Tuesday, at the Hotel Trident, where the joint legislature party meeting of the alliance partners — the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress — was being held, there were placards reading: “We love you, Ajit dada Pawar”, though he was not present.
Having “turned the tables” on his mentor and uncle Sharad Pawar on Saturday, Ajit Pawar on Tuesday seem to have succumbed to the persuasion of his extended family and resigned as Deputy Chief Minister, bringing down the short-lived Fadnavis government.
The ‘deal’ or an understanding in the Pawar family is not yet public, but sources say the family is closely-knit and even celebrated ‘Bhai Dooj’ (Hindu festival) together in the glare of the cameras. The nephew, like his uncle, is unpredictable and temperamental, said a party insider. He often sings one of Kishore Kumar’s best songs: “What lies in my heart, if you ask, I can tell you.” But what is really in the heart of Ajit Pawar, perhaps nobody knows.
■
Amid camaraderie and cheerful faces all around, some 283 of the total 288 newly elected legislators of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly took oath of office at the Vidhan Bhavan yesterday afternoon.
The Pro-team speaker Kalidas N. Kolambkar administered the oath at 8am. There were some first-timers like Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray who first went and prayed at the Siddhi Vinayak Temple before rushing to the oath ceremony at Nariman Point.
■