The Assembly elections in Maharashtra were described as a fight for survival for NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. Several of his party colleagues had migrated to the ruling side, and there was pressure on him on account of a case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in alleged money laundering case.
However, the 78-year-old leader fought back, stunning naysayers as his party won 54 seats in the Assembly polls and now finds itself in a position to play a crucial role in forming the next government in Maharashtra.
Pawar is the man of the moment, having emerged as the most sought after person in the post-poll developments. He is playing a pivotal role in the ongoing efforts to bring together the ideologically disparate Shiv Sena and the Congress to form government even as there is a strong buzz that the BJP, having lost the Sena, is now reaching out to him.
The wily Maratha has yet again proved his political mettle. He used the ED case against him to invoke the Maratha pride of his constituents, conveying to them how the ruling party was going after their leader. The sight of a drenched Pawar carrying on with his speech during an election rally in Satara despite heavy rains went viral on social media and it was seen as a mark of the veteran leader's resilience and his gumption to fight back.
Pawar is now the most important person in the scheme of things in Maharashtra as he engages with the Sena and is involved in discussions with the Congress to form the next government. As he baffled reporters after his meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi two days back, saying that allying with the Sena was not discussed by the leaders and that more discussions were set to take place, it was clear that the shrewd politician is involved in tough negotiations on power sharing. It is learnt that the NCP is keen on rotational chief ministership, with the party getting the post for two-and-a-half years.
Responding to queries on Pawar's cryptic response on the possibility of allying with the Shiv Sena, Sanjay Raut, Rajya Sabha MP belonging to the Sena, said, “It needs a hundred births” to understand what the NCP chief says.
Modi's praise for Pawar in Parliament meanwhile raised eyebrows as it came in the backdrop of discussions taking place between the Sena and the NCP-Congress combine. Pawar's meeting with Modi, which the NCP said was to discuss agrarian crisis in Maharashtra, assumed greater significance since the BJP is also learnt to be exploring the possibility of forming government with support from the NCP.
The Maratha strongman has proved that he cannot be written off just yet.
