‘Ajit Pawar’s exit will create greater space for Supriya Sule’
‘Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule are poles apart in their administrative prowess’.
As speculation about Ajit Pawar switching sides is continuing to grow, party insiders claim that if the junior Pawar switches over to the BJP, it would play a decisive role in bringing Supriya Sule, daughter of veteran politician and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, at the centre stage of NCP politics.
However, a section of NCP leadership doubt if Sule would be able to take up the matters of the party effectively as her connect with the party leaders is very low. A party insider said, “Ajit Pawar is unmatchable in his administrative abilities. He is straightforward and connected with his leaders. He is well communicated with party leaders. If he decides to leave, most of the MLAS will go with him.” Thus, political matters are expected to fall back on Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar.
The party leaders describe the two leaders (Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule) being poles apart in their administrative prowess. While the junior Pawar is being seen as someone who actively enjoys influence and authority over majority leaders in the party, Sule, on the other hand, is seen as a passive politician being in power because of her father (Sharad Pawar). A party leader said, “Supriya ji may be only popular in her own constituency of Baramati Lok Sabha segment. But Ajit ji has his political dominance everywhere in Maharashtra, even in those places where NCP doesn’t have any legislative representative.”
Moreover recently, the two loyalist MLAS of Ajit Pawar (Anna Bansode and Manikrao Kokate) have openly come out quoting an “unconditional support” to Ajit Pawar, showing that they have no permanent or at least substantial allegiance to the party supremo (Sharad Pawar), which has left the party in a political flux of possibilities.
An IPAC member in the state said, “Supriya Sule has recently said that there is nothing wrong in having ambitions in politics while responding to Ajit Pawar having CM ambitions. She for the same sake of ambitions would have been wanting to carve her own political space within the party but up until now, it has been immensely overshadowed by Ajit Pawar. If the junior Pawar leaves the party, she would of course want to dominate intraparty politics.”
In addition to that, NCP leaders believe even though his exit will do a big damage to the party, the party will subsequently have an edge in electoral politics. A party insider said, “Uddhav Thackeray lost most of his elected members and his party was reduced to disarray which gave rise to public sympathy for him. Now, he has comparatively become more popular. In the same way NCP will gain. Plus, Sharad Pawar knows how to capitalise on issues politically. He is politically sharp and incomparable.”
It is widely believed in the party that Pawar is at the cusp of leaving the party and could soon add substantial MLAS to the ruling alliance to sustain the BJP government if the Supreme Court decides to punish and disqualify 16 MLAS from the Eknath Shinde camp. Moreover, there are around half a dozen MLAS who have openly said that they will follow Ajit Pawar in whatever his decision would be.
An MVA leader said, “There are apprehensions that the SC may adjudicate its decision on disqualification before 9 May. The BJP is also serious about it and thus there are possibilities, if the MLAS are disqualified, that Ajit Pawar will switch over to the saffron camp before that.”