Mumbai: After the two-day convention of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) concluded Sunday in New Delhi with Ajit Pawar walking out midway without delivering a speech, political corridors in the country’s capital, as well as in Maharashtra, have been buzzing.
While Pawar clarified that his “walkout” was actually for a “washroom break” and that he never speaks at national conventions anyway, the questions over a possible rift were not baseless.
Ajit Pawar’s political ambitions have often caused friction between him and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, as uncertainty remains over whether the latter would pass his political legacy and supremacy in the party to him, or his daughter Supriya Sule, an MP from Baramati.
This important question remained unanswered at the convention, as Sharad Pawar, 81, was re-elected to the post of NCP president, which he has held since the party’s formation in 1999, with no discussions on the post-Pawar era for the party.
The re-election shows Sharad Pawar is not keen on spelling out a succession plan and rocking the boat just yet.
Speaking to ThePrint, Mumbai-based political commentator Pratap Asbe said, “I don’t think he will pick a successor. His view about this must be that let the people decide on who should take the reins of the party. He will let things take their own course.”
“If he picks anyone now, there will be multiple views expressed, discussions, and politics surrounding the decision. So, he probably wants to avoid the controversy right now altogether,” he added.
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Why Pawar may be unwilling to show his cards
Dilip Walse Patil, a former NCP minister known to be close to Sharad Pawar, told ThePrint, “We have never thought about who will lead the party after Pawar saheb, and there hasn’t been any indication from him either about the succession. I don’t think there is any reason to think about it.”
The NCP leaders ThePrint spoke to, said that while there has never been any formal or informal discussion within the party on NCP’s future after Sharad Pawar, there is an unsaid understanding that Ajit Pawar will hold the reins in Maharashtra, while Supriya Sule will represent the party nationally in Delhi. But, who will hold the post of NCP president is anybody’s guess.
A senior party MLA said, “Although the NCP is a national party, everyone knows that its real existence is basically in Maharashtra and the work here is very ably-handled by Ajit Dada. At the Centre, it is Supriya Tai.”
Another senior party functionary said, “Ajit Dada started out as an MP, but he wanted to work in Maharashtra. There is a reason he says he doesn’t want to address national conventions, while he speaks at length in state conventions.”
“Supriya Tai, on the other hand, likes being in Delhi. She has won so many awards as a parliamentarian. She uses her position to help NCP members with party work from time to time. So, I think the jurisdictions are clear,” she said.
In flexing his muscle, Ajit Pawar has often clashed with his uncle — like when he said the NCP will use a saffron flag with an image of Shivaji emblazoned on it, a statement that senior Pawar denied; or when he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, despite his uncle criticising the central government’s decision.
In 2019, senior Pawar’s decision to not contest the Lok Sabha election, and nominate Ajit Pawar’s son Parth from the Maval constituency, was seen as a victory for Ajit Pawar. But, Parth created a record by becoming the first from the family to lose an election.
Ajit’s most obvious revolt was when he led a coup in 2019 and formed a government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The government, however, fell within three days, but his undeniable popularity among the NCP cadre ensured that Sharad Pawar welcomed him back to the party with open arms.
Meanwhile, Supriya Sule, who has always maintained that she is more interested in national politics because she has been a four-time MP (one term in Rajya Sabha and three Lok Sabha wins), has taken efforts to cultivate her image in Maharashtra as well.
In 2017, she launched a state-wide tour to interact with the youth and women of the state. In 2019, she played a visible role in the entire process of the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government with the Shiv Sena and Congress.
In an interview with the PTI in 2016, Sule said “people will decide” her father’s political heir and that “political life does not come by genes”.
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‘No personal ambitions’
Other than Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule, there is a rung of tall leaders in the party with political ambitions, such as Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil, and former cabinet ministers like Rajesh Tope, Chhagan Bhujbal, and so on.
As for the other leaders, they are aware the political stature they have today is because of the opportunities Pawar saheb gave them, said the party functionary quoted earlier. There are many positions within the government and the party to accommodate their ambitions, the functionary added.
A second NCP MLA said while there was no talk about NCP’s future leadership at the party’s convention in New Delhi, “Pawar saheb did acknowledge that he is old and specified that he has no personal political ambitions.”
However, he added, “Considering the party’s immediate priority of fighting the BJP government at the Centre by bringing together like-minded forces, it was imperative that he stayed as NCP president.”
The MLA said Pawar’s comment “about lack of political ambition” was more in the context of speculations about him eyeing the Prime Minister’s post, by being an interlocutor of opposition unity.
“Many political parties are taking the initiative, and Pawar saheb, with his excellent relations with everyone, can be the glue that brings them together, including the Congress,” he said.
“It will strengthen the NCP’s national position, but beyond that there is nothing that he wants for himself,” he added.
(Edited by Siddarth Muralidharan)
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