A series of closed-door meetings in Baramati between NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and the late Ajit Pawar’s elder son, Parth, since February 4 has now become a major talking point in political circles. The warmth-exuding visuals of Pawar’s chat with Parth and another grandson, MLA Rohit Pawar, at Ajit’s residence on Friday now has senior leaders from both NCP factions guessing. Pawar was not exactly a fan of Parth, after the latter insisted on contesting the Lok Sabha election from Maval in 2019 and lost. Later, Pawar’s remarks aimed at Parth’s understanding of politics led to bitterness between the two. On Friday, however, it looked like the rancour had dissipated or the duo had decided to leave it behind following Ajit’s death.
According to party insiders, things began changing after Ajit met Pawar with Parth in tow on the NCP (SP) chief’s birthday in December. The post-February 4 developments are being watched keenly, as the Pawar-Parth meetings are happening just when it looked like deputy CM Sunetra Pawar and her sons were keeping a distance from the NCP founder. Meanwhile, Rohit Pawar’s statement that he will reveal certain things about the plane crash and the merger talks with Ajit has left many wondering what new light will be thrown on the issues in press conferences scheduled on February 10 and 12.
Uddhav’s tit for tat?
Since the Congress turned down his request for a coalition in the BMC polls, effectively foiling Uddhav Thackeray’s plan to win power in the civic body, the Sena (UBT) chief has now adopted a “flexible” approach towards the BJP. He chose not to contest the mayoral election in Mumbai, which indirectly helped the BJP. The party did not have to concede Eknath Shinde’s demand for a significant share of power in the BMC, as the BJP does not have a majority and would have had to rely on Shinde, had there been an election.
Sena (UBT) leaders are also talking to their BJP counterparts in Chandrapur, where the Congress has emerged as the largest party in the civic body but without a majority. The party is seeking Thackeray’s support but he is driving a hard bargain, insisting on the mayoral post. Meanwhile the BJP has offered the Sena (UBT) the mayoral post to prevent the Congress from winning power there. In other bodies too, Thackeray is weighing his chances. “Congress leaders in Mumbai seemed determined not to cooperate with us to win the BMC,” said a senior Sena leader. “Their leaders in the state and at the Centre also did not do much when we sought their help for an alliance. Now we are under no obligation to help the Congress win power anywhere in the state.”
Congress’ indiscipline in Chandrapur
Local body poll trends showed that voters did not favour the Congress much as compared to the ruling parties. Some of the party’s leaders are now making it even more difficult for Congress voters to retain faith in the party. In Chandrapur, the Congress emerged as the single largest party—it won 27 seats in a house of 66 while the Sena (UBT) won six and a local outfit won three. The only job local Congress leaders had was to quickly decide on a mayoral candidate and work out a deal with parties like the Sena (UBT) to secure a majority. But although it has been three weeks since the result, the two Congress factions led by local MP Pratibha Dhanorkar and legislator Vijay Wadettiwar have been at loggerheads over their respective factions’ mayoral candidates. The tussle between the two reached a point where the party’s senior leaders in Delhi had to intervene to broker peace. Looks like the party has suffered setbacks in elections but its leaders have not learnt their lessons.
Shinde’s 15-month plan: opportunity or tactic?
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde has surprised everybody by giving short mayoral and deputy mayoral tenures to his corporators in Thane, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan and other places. The tenure of a mayor and deputy mayor is two and a half years but Shinde has decided to give most of his men a 15-month tenure. The deputy CM’s aides claim that this is to give opportunity to more corporators but his allies suspect that it could also leave some room for manoeuvring. Shinde would like to have a mayor in Mumbai for at least one year or so and in exchange can offer the same post to the BJP in Thane and Kalyan. Whatever the reasons, Shinde evidently loves to keep his allies guessing.