Mumbai: The formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra in 2019 — comprising the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Shiv Sena — was not just powerplay but a strong response to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) tendency to marginalise other political parties by any means, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar writes in his autobiography Lok Maze Sangati (People, My Companion).
Pawar announced his decision to step down as NCP chief at the release of his updated autobiography Tuesday, leading to heartbreak and hysteria among party members. The leader eventually said he will need a few days to think over his decision.
“MVA was the biggest challenge for the BJP in the entire country and we already had an idea that they would try to destabilise our government. But we had no idea that the rebellion would be from within the Shiv Sena only, after Uddhav was made the Chief Minister,” Pawar has written in the second edition of the book.
Pawar is referring to rebellion by a faction of Sena leaders, led by current Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, which led to the collapse of the MVA government last year and the formation of government by the Shinde faction, with support from the BJP. The Shinde faction has since been allotted the Shiv Sena party name and the original bow and arrow symbol by the Election Commission.
In the revised edition of his autobiography released Tuesday, Pawar, who penned it with help from senior journalist Abhay Kulkarni, has written about Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure as chief minister. He has also reiterated that he did not know about nephew Ajit Pawar’s decision to join hands with the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis in 2019, as has been insisted by the latter.
“After becoming CM, Uddhav Thackeray wore a shirt and a pair of trousers, a middle-class attire. During Covid [pandemic], he communicated via Facebook live, which appealed to the middle class. But due to his health reasons, he had some limitations. During Covid, Uddhav’s mere 2-3 visits to the Mantralaya were not going well for us (perception wise, wasn’t good for the allies),” Pawar has written.
On his nephew and NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s decision to support Fadnavis in 2019, he writes, “I was shocked when I got a call on 23 November 2019 that Ajit and a few NCP MLAs were at the Raj Bhavan and Ajit was taking oath with Fadnavis.”
Speaking at the book launch, Kulkarni said, “Six years have gone by since the first edition was published. For this revised edition, we have talked for 185 hours and 41 days. I could never get out of Sharad Pawar something he didn’t want to say. That kind of discipline is rare.”
In the first edition of the book released in 2015, Pawar had chronicled his then five-decade-old career, documented Maharashtra’s history since its formation in the 1960s, his own terms as the state CM, his split from the Congress and other key political events, such as the Emergency of the 1970s.
The memoir also includes his reflections on coalition politics, the loss of democracy in the Congress (the party with which he began his political career), the state of agriculture and industry in the country, and the necessity of social harmony and a liberal, inclusive ethos for India’s future.
The second edition has added events which took place after 2015.
On Uddhav Thackeray
Coming down heavily on ally Uddhav Thackeray, Pawar claims in the book that the latter’s alleged inexperience and lack of political acumen played a major role in the way he handled the government.
“As CM, one should have all news related to the state. The CM should keep a close watch on all political happenings and take steps with an eye on the future… We all felt that one of the reasons [for problems faced by Uddhav as CM] was the lack of experience.”
He has also claimed that Uddhav wasn’t as accessible as his father, former Shiv Sena supremo, the late Bal Thackeray. “The ease with which we used to interact with Balasaheb was lacking with Uddhav. I would visit him considering his health and doctor’s appointments. I feel the reason Uddhav took a step back just before the fall of the MVA government was his health,” he says.
According to Pawar, Thackeray failed to resolve the discontent within his own party and stepped down (from the CM’s post) without a fight.
On Ajit Pawar
Pawar has also recalled the events of 2019, when nephew Ajit had taken oath as deputy CM with Devendra Fadnavis as CM, even as the MVA coalition was being cobbled together.
The ministry had lasted for three days, before Uddhav was sworn in as the MVA CM. Ajit again became deputy CM in the MVA government.
“When I made calls to a few MLAs present at the Raj Bhavan [during Fadnavis and Ajit’s swearing-in], I got to know that only 10 [NCP] MLAs had reached there and one of them said to him [Pawar] that it was happening because I had supported it,” Pawar claims in the book.
He goes on to add that it was a ploy of the BJP’s central and state leadership, and that of the Raj Bhavan (the governor) to destroy the MVA plan.
“I called Uddhav Thackeray immediately and told him that whatever Ajit has done is wrong and the NCP and I don’t support that. My name was used to take NCP MLAs to the Raj Bhavan. I asked him to join me in a press conference at 11 am on the same [issue].”
Pawar adds that when he sat back to analyse why Ajit had taken such a step, he realised that the experience of discussing government formation with the Congress had not been a pleasant one.
“Due to their behaviour, every day we were facing issues in the discussion on government formation. We had taken a very soft stand in the discussion but their response was not that welcoming. In one such meeting, I even lost my cool and said that there was no point discussing anything further, which shocked many leaders in my own party,” he says in the book.
Pawar notes that he could see how upset Ajit was with the Congress’s attitude and he found out later that his nephew left the meeting soon after he did.
“I didn’t think anything could go wrong…I took the immediate first step to get all MLAs back in the flock…At the Y.B. Chavan Center, I called a meeting of our MLAs and 50 out of 54 MLAs were present so I was sure the rebellion had ended,” he adds.
Within the family, Pawar says, they tried to resolve the issue, with even his wife getting involved for the first time.
“Ajit has a very high regard and respect for my wife, Pratibha. This was the first time Pratibha was part of politics. Ajit met Pratibha and told her whatever happened was wrong and should not have happened. This was enough for us to end the topic,” Pawar says.
He adds: “There are people who follow and respect Ajit in the assembly. His aggressive working style is his plus point. After a lot of deliberation, I decided that Ajit be made the deputy CM [in the MVA government]… the way he has worked during Covid [pandemic] is a validation of that decision.”
On BJP-Sena relationship
Pawar has claimed in the autobiography that the BJP was out to eliminate the Sena, its ally for 30 years, in the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, as it was sure it could not gain prominence in the state unless it downplayed its ally’s existence.
“There was a simmering anger in the Shiv Sena against the BJP post the 2019 assembly polls. The BJP rubbed salt on the Sena’s wounds by merging Narayan Rane’s Swabhiman Party with it. Rane is seen as a traitor by the Shiv Sena,” he says.
Rane had been expelled from the Sena by Bal Thackeray in 2005, allegedly for revolting against Uddhav’s authority.
“The BJP fielded and supported rebel candidates in nearly 50 constituencies against the Shiv Sena. It was an attempt to damage the Sena by decreasing their numbers to have an undisputed claim on power,” Pawar says, adding, “The rift between the Sena and the BJP kept widening and it was a positive signal for us.”
In 2019, he says, while Sena-BJP talks were underway, “Sanjay Raut [member of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) party] met me and from what he said, it was evident there was uncertainty over power-sharing with the BJP.”
Some within the BJP wanted to establish a government without the Sena aside, Pawar says in the book, adding that some BJP leaders also had informal chats with some NCP leaders.
“I was not a part of it but talks happened at a very informal and casual level. The NCP didn’t show any interest in the talks or in this idea as we had decided not to go ahead with the BJP which we conveyed to them strongly,” he says.
Pawar adds: “I met PM Modi in Delhi and conveyed the same (to him). But I should say one thing — there were a few NCP leaders who were of the opinion that we should form an alliance with the BJP.”
But, he notes in the book that he was always of the opinion that the BJP cannot be trusted.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: Loyalty, boundaries, revolt — what shapes the ‘Pawar brand of politics’ and where it’s headed