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The political situation in Maharashtra seems unstable, with the speculation that Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) under the leadership of his nephew, Ajit Pawar, could be split, just when the Supreme Court could deliver its verdict on the disqualification plea in the Sena vs Sena case anytime.
But the former Maharashtra deputy CM, Ajit Pawar, has dismissed reports on switching over to the BJP with the backing of a section of his party MLAs. “I am in the NCP. The news, which is floating that I have taken signatures of 40 MLAs, is wrong. I am not going anywhere. Such news about me is nothing but another attempt to divert the issue from main issues which people of Maharashtra are facing.”
The question arises why is the BJP looking for another partner in the state when they have Eknath Shinde and his Shiv Sena camp with them?
According to sources in the BJP, the party is working on a plan in case the Supreme Court gives order in the disqualification plea against chief minister Eknath Shinde and his MLAs, then the party would want another strong partner to join them and form the government in the state.
In the current scenario, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena does not have enough MLAs and Congress being the traditional opponent of the BJP is certainly not an option. Therefore, the remaining coalition partner NCP, which has 54 MLAs and had shown interest in giving “outside support” to the Devendra Fadnavis government in 2014.
According to another source in the BJP, NCP leaders such as Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik, Hasan Mushrif and Salil Deshmukh are already facing the heat of central agencies. In such a scenario, no one should be surprised if the NCP leaders take the same road which Shinde and his supporters took and form their own camp.
“All will be welcomed if they are ready to follow our ideology,” the source said, adding that in the current political situation Ajit Pawar and Fadnavis who have got better control over the administration in Maharashtra and can work relentlessly for the progress of the state. “If these two leaders come together, a lot can be done in the state,” the source further said.
According to the leader from the NCP, who also work closely with Ajit Pawar, the state government’s performance under Eknath Shinde is not “good”. “This government has completely failed on the issue of farmers. They are not taking any positive decision for the people of the state, considering the general election in 2024; it is very difficult for the BJP to win maximum seats from the state. Hence, the BJP is looking out for another partner. But, as of now, there is no such movement in the party and Sharad Pawar is in touch with all the NCP leaders and MLAs.
Amid all the speculations on Ajit Pawar joining the BJP, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had said in Pune that “everyone in the party is working to strengthen it. Ajit Pawar has not called any meeting of MLAs. All these talks are in the media only.”
According to the sources, Congress leader KC Venugopal and other leaders of Maharashtra Congress had met Uddhav Thackeray on late Monday evening, and discussed the political instability in the state.
The Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena may walk out of the government if Ajit Pawar joins the BJP, said Shiv Sena rebel MLA Sanjay Shirsat.
Sharad Pawar, the architect of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state, now has another challenge to keep his flock intact or it will be an embarrassing situation for him to be in at the national level.
NCP’s Twitter handle posted on Tuesday, “Whatever discussion is in your mind is not in the mind of any of us. This discussion has absolutely no importance… Talking about the NCP, our party and colleagues are working in the role of how to make the party stronger with one idea. There is no other thought in anyone’s mind. In the news, it was read that there is a meeting of NCP MLAS. But this is hundred percent false. No one has called any such meeting. I have not called any meeting in this regard…”
Meanwhile, Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil gave a statement on Tuesday refuting any speculation on Ajit Pawar joining BJP. There was no discussion between Ajit Pawar or any other party. “We are with Ajit Pawar and he is with NCP,” he stressed.
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