The saga of Ajit Pawar: Is redemption in store for the 'disgraced' nephew?

Earlier this year, in the Lok Sabha polls, Parth, son of Ajit Pawar, contested from the Maval seat in Pune district. He lost. According to NCP insiders, as PTI then reported, Ajit blamed uncle Sharad Pawar's "disinterest" for the defeat. The Pawar feud—in the first family of the NCP—was one that always bubbled below the surface, barely so. For Ajit, it was the rise of Supriya Sule, his cousin and Sharad's daughter, in the national politics as the heir apparent to the NCP patriarch. This was a role he felt he deserved to play. The emergence of Rohit Pawar, grandson of another of Sharad Pawar's brothers, as a new-generation leader from the family and his victory from Karjat-Jamkhed assembly seat only added to Ajit Pawar's insecurity.

Was he also looking to get out of the veteran Maratha leader's shadow? This theory was back in circulation on November 23, as in a move few thought possible, the 60-year-old Ajit hitched his horse to the BJP and Devendra Fadnavis wagon, in the process becoming the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. However, three days later, after the Supreme Court ordered an immediate floor test to gauge whether the Fadnavis government had a majority, he resigned.

Who is Ajit Pawar?

Born in a farmers family on July 22, 1959 in Ahmednagars Deolali Pravara, Ajit is married to Sunetra, sister of former Maharashtra minister Padmasinh Patil. The couple has two sons Parth and Jay. His father worked with film veteran V. Shantaram and the suddenness with which Ajit Pawar was sworn in along with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis looked like something straight from a Bollywood thriller. A tough administrator and an immensely popular face in his largely rural Assembly segment Baramti in Pune district, Ajit is also a maverick leader who doesnt shy from being on a different page from his party.

Fondly referred to as Dada, Ajit cut his teeth in politics at the grass root-level under the wings of Sharad Pawar in the early 80s. Ajit Pawar took the plunge into electoral politics by contesting a by-election in 1991 from the Baramati Assembly seat and has since retained the family bastion seven times in a row. His winning the October 21 Assembly election with the highest margin of 1.65 lakh votes only affirmed his iron grip on the constituency.

Appointed as NCP's legislature party leader before joining hands with the BJP, Ajit first became a minister of state in June 1991, when Sudhakarrao Naik helmed the state government. He has so far held portfolios like agriculture, water resources, rural soil conservation, irrigation and power and planning during his three-decade-old career.

Hitching wagon with the BJP

The leader has faced allegations in connection with the alleged irrigation scam and is also named in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate. The dramatic swearing-in of Fadnavis as chief minister and Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar as his deputy was preceded by days of talks between key party leaders and the junior Pawar, who was facing probe in corruption cases being investigated by central agencies, according to reports by PTI. The BJP central leadership dispatched party general secretary Bhupender Yadav, a trusted confidant who was also the party's in-charge for the state polls, to Mumbai to execute its plan on ground in coordination with Fadnavis.

The decision to form government at the earliest was taken to trump the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress alliance, which appeared set to stake claim to power, as BJP leaders were of the view that the charm of power would help pull many fence-sitter independent MLAs and those from rival camps to its camp.

Post Ajit's move, serious questions were raised whether the defection was done with the silent assent of Sharad Pawar. It also raised eyebrows when reports later claimed that the state anti-corruption bureau has closed investigations into nine cases linked to the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam in which Ajit is an accused.

Is redemption in store for Ajit Pawar?

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar resigned on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test in the state on Wednesday. According to media reports, Ajit Pawar was being coaxed by members of Sharad Pawar's family to return to the alliance with the Shiv Sena and Congress.

Soon after Ajit Pawar resigned as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has claimed that the rebel NCP leader is back in the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance. "Ajit dada has resigned and he is with us. Uddhav Thackeray will be the chief minister of Maharashtra for five years," Raut said.

NDTV reported that Ajit Pawar had resigned after a one-hour conversation with Fadnavis, as he threw in his towel and told the BJP it would be impossible to win over so many MLAs in 24 hours.

The Print reported that Pratibha Pawar, the wife of Sharad Pawar and known to be close to Ajit, played a crucial role in effecting his resignation. She did not want the family to be torn apart, and it was reported that multiple members of the Pawar family, including Sadanand, husband of Supriya Sule, met with Ajit at Hotel Trident.

A reconciliation could happen soon. Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Wednesday said that the party leaders wanted Ajit to stay in NCP's fold, reported ANI. "Everyone, all the MLAs, want Ajit Pawar to come back to the NCP. We requested the party leadership and also insisted Ajit Pawar talk to Sharad Pawar. They have met but we don't know what they discussed in the meeting."

How soon that could happen remains to be seen.