Pawar Play

Desperate double role: NCP still frenemies with BJP in Maharashtra

ncp-protest-mumbai-pti NCP activists protesting against rising prices in Thane | PTI

Recently, Ajit Pawar, a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), travelled with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to Aurangabad for a wedding. While there was nothing unusual in the two leaders travelling together, the incident aroused curiosity as just days before the journey, Ajit had publicly declared that he would not invite the CM or other BJP leaders for any public functions, even non-political ones.

Ajit, a former deputy chief minister of the state, claimed that he did not want share a stage with BJP leaders as people would start raising questions about it. The journey gave a glimpse into the political compulsions of the NCP in Maharashtra where it has made overtures to the ruling BJP, while professing to be opposed to it.

Another interesting recent development in Maharashtra politics was the candidature of Prasad Lad as BJP candidate for the upcoming Legislative Council election on December 7. Lad, a former NCP man, joined the BJP after it came to power in 2014. But prior to that, he was close to a number of senior NCP leaders including Ajit.

Journalists covering politics in Maharashtra have routinely been getting messages that particular NCP leaders 'were all set to join the BJP in coming days.' The latest such name doing the rounds is that of Jaidutt Kshirsagar, a senior NCP leader and former minister from Beed district. Fadnavis is said to have gone to visit Kshirsagar at his residence in Beed.

Even as all these developments have been taking place, the NCP has been preparing to launch a 'Halla Bol' protest march against the Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra for its failure to tackle issues on all fronts. Senior NCP leaders like Supriya Sule (daughter of NCP founder Sharad Pawar), Ajit, and Praful Patel would launch the Halla Bol padyatra in Yavatmal on Friday. This walkathon would cover 160km to reach Nagpur on December 11 and would be converted to a massive morcha that will be joined by the Congress on the next day (December 12), which happens to be the birthday of Sharad.

“This morcha will launch an all-out attack on the BJP government, which has failed on all fronts. Unemployment is rising, farmers are unhappy. Supriyatai will walk the entire stretch of 160km in the Halla Bol morcha, while other legislators will keep participating on and off as they have to be in Mumbai for voting on December 7 for the byelection,” senior NCP leader and former minister Nawab Malik told THE WEEK.

In a press conference in Yavatmal, Sule reportedly said that Fadnavis had betrayed the trust of people by not fulfilling election promises. “His government has deceived people and poor farmers by making tall promises. The objective of the Halla Bol yatra is to expose the true face of this government and chief minister,” said Sule.

The NCP has also decided that it will vote for Congress candidate Dilip Mane in the Legislative Council byelection on December 7. It also announced an alliance with the Congress to take on the BJP in Gujarat.

Senior political analyst Prakash Akolkar said that the NCP had already lost credibility and with this kind of 'two-faced' behaviour, it may never regain it.

“It is part of a split personality of that party that it has to take an anti-Modi stand as a public face. But if you see carefully, many senior NCP leaders are facing some or other charges of corruption, be it Ajit Pawar or Sunil Tatkare. And the man who raised these charges (Fadnavis) is chief minister today.”

“So they are forced to have cordial and friendly relations with him and the BJP. All of them are afraid that they might find themselves behind bars like Chhagan Bhujbal. That is why you have Ajit Pawar declaring that he will not join the CM at any function and then a few days later, he travels with Fadnavis in the plane for a wedding. The only leader who is not facing any charges is Supriya Sule and that is why you have her launching campaigns against the government. With this kind of behaviour from NCP, you have the Shiv Sena, which is a partner in the government, playing the role of opposition,” Akolkar explained.

This browser settings will not support to add bookmarks programmatically. Please press Ctrl+D or change settings to bookmark this page.

Related Reading