Pawar Vs Pawar: The Master of the Game

The Pawar who gave power to the Thackeray.

"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely"

The quest to accomplish a personal dream (read bullet train) versus the people of a state or perhaps the whole nation has taken precedent in recent years. Indian politics has had its fair share of drama in the distant past but not many of us would have thought a repeat of events will come to haunt or rather entertain us in an absolutely distasteful way in the new millennium. 

The drama unfolded the day when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - Shiv Sena (SS) alliance crossed the halfway mark in the Maharashtra assembly elections quite easily but none had the strength to claim power on their own in the most powerful state in the Republic of India. All the exit polls which predicted a huge win for the alliance fell flat.

Having ruled for the last 5 years, the BJP, was looking to add 5 more years to that tally but the alliance partner Shiv Sena had different plans this time around.

Having played second fiddle to the BJP the whole 5 years, the Shiv Sena had to come up with something drastic to stay relevant in Maharashtrian Politics. Knowing very well the BJP needed the Sena desperately this time around to hang on to power, the Shiv Sena moved a proposal of a rotating Chief Ministership wherein the BJP and Shiv Sena would split the 5 years into 2.5 years each. The BJP rejected the proposal even while the Shiv Sena claimed that a deal was made prior to the elections on this subject matter. 

With central leadership of the BJP refusing to budge, the Shiv Sena refused to be part of the government until their demands were met. 

Out of nowhere a possible deal with the Nationalist Congress Party lead by Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar started making rounds. Before anyone could even fathom about this unlikely alliance, Shiv Sena (SS), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) were negotiating a possibility to form a government. With the central leadership of BJP getting jittery over this possible "unholy" alliance as they claimed, the Presidents rule was imposed on the 12th of November.

Meanwhile, the SS, NCP and INC continued negotiating their so called Common Minimum Program. This meeting concluded on the 22nd of November with all sides claiming they were happy with the outcome of the meeting. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar left the meeting at 9 PM citing that he was no longer needed. Ajit Pawar, the NCP legislative assembly leader stayed through the proceedings and left only when the meeting was concluded where it was decided unanimously that Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray will be the CM of this new partnership and he will rule for 5 years. All seemed well for a new alliance in Maharashtra, christened as 'Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi'.

While the state of Maharashtra and most of its leaders were sleeping, a plan was hatched by the BJP's supreme leader in New Delhi. At 5.47 AM, the President's rule was suddenly revoked. The twist in the tale came when Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in front of the Governor along with Ajit Pawar taking oath as the deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar had submitted a letter to the governor stating that he had support of all his 54 MLAs to form a government with BJP. The Governor also announced a floor test to take place in 7 days time to prove majority in the house. A huge tsunami had hit Maharashtra which caught many of us including Sharad Pawar unawares. Or was it?

The Sharad Pawar / Ajit Pawar saga

Considered a tall maratha leader, Sharad Pawar is a commanding figure in local and national politics. Ajit Pawar, his nephew, is supposedly disgruntled over his uncle preference of Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar's daughter as a natural heir to his legacy. The drama over this subject are well documented in media. The one thing which both Ajit & Sharad Pawar share in common are a list of scams, the infamous among which is the Rs. 70000 crore irrigation scam in which Ajit Pawar is one of the main accused. 

Using this as a leverage to win elections, the BJP had used this to their advantage to break ranks in the NCP and also to gain election victories in NCP strongholds. For this purpose, the BJP used 2 methods; buy out NCP leaders who were sure shot winners and use the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Maharashtra against the opposition leaders to frighten them. Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar were sent notices by ACB  which led to the beginning of the plan. Sharad Pawar, had to make a point. Ajit Pawar came out looking weak and frightened in that saga. The BJP must've definitely noticed it.

Determined to prove that he still had what it takes to win elections, Sharad Pawar went on a campaigning rampage.

The footage of a 78 year old man, standing in pouring rain addressing a rally in Satara melted the hearts of many and the result of which gave NCP 13 more seats than what they managed in 2014 making them the 3rd largest party. Along with their alliance partner INC, they had 98 seats between them which was 47 short of the mid way mark. 

The drama unfolded when the BJP - SS called for a divorce and the man behind this was Sharad Pawar. Although he always maintained that they were given a mandate to sit in opposition, his party the NCP, was now the king maker and the BJP were secretly hoping to get him on board. Sharad Pawar knew the weakness of BJP top brass. He knew what they exactly wanted and he played along. When things seemed to be falling in place with the new alliance, Ajit Pawar makes a secret pact with the BJP.  With a masterstroke, Amitbhai Shah and Narendra Modi had claimed another victory. While the NEWS channels were celebrating the Chanakya Niti and hailing Amit Shah; Sharad Pawar along with Supriya Sule looked heartbroken.

"Party Split: Family Split"

The entire machinery focused on how Ajit Pawar back-stabbed his own uncle. It was understood however that some benefits might have been involved for Ajit Pawar to take such a step against his own uncle. While the new alliance cried fowl, Sharad Pawar maintained that he had no idea why Ajit Pawar took such a drastic step. The MLA's were held up in hotels around the city to prevent BJP from poaching them which is now commonly referred to as "Resort Politics" by media. While Ajit Pawar kept himself away from his own party, Sharad Pawar met the leaders of INC and SS, assuring them of complete support by all NCP MLA's.

The drama also unfolded in the Supreme Court where the newly formed alliance claimed the entire exercise as illegal and presented the honorable court with strong evidence to prove their point. The court will take 2 days to reach a verdict. Suddenly, the ACB of Maharashtra, closes 9 cases related to the irrigation scam in which Ajit Pawar was implicated. On the same day, Sharad Pawar along with other alliance partners organizes a massive show of strength. One day prior to the Supreme Court order, 162 MLA's attend this meeting proving without doubt that Sharad Pawar has held the party together and the alliance together.

On 26th November at 10.30 AM, the supreme court called for a floor test on 27th November. An hour or so after this judgement, Ajit Pawar resigns from his post as deputy CM citing that he no longer had the numbers he thought he had. At 3.30 PM, some 3 days 8 hours after he was sworn in as CM of Maharashtra for a 2nd term, Devendra Fadnavis resigns from his post.
The next day, Ajit Pawar would claim that he had never left the NCP in the 1st place and that he stands by his uncle Sharad Pawar. The Modi-Shah game plan had failed miserably. In their quest for power, they were blinded by the fact that they were being played by the oldest player in Indian Politics; Sharad Pawar.

The game-plan

Although the whole world would call this saga a misadventure by Ajit Pawar, everyone knows nothing can escape the sharp eyes and scrutiny of Maratha strong man Sharad Pawar. This game was planned even before the SS and BJP called for a bitter separation. He had hatched this plan when Modi-Shah tried their tricks on him before the assembly elections. Instead of frightening him, they had instead awakened a giant. He planned to play a game so dramatic that it would end up not only benefiting him and his party in the long run but also his nephew Ajit Pawar. The so called feud between Sharad and Ajit Pawar was just a weapon which the duo used to destroy their opposition. A desperate BJP failed to see through this game. A trojan horse invaded their very house, played their own game and burned down their ambition to rule Maharashtra. The Emperor played every dirty trick in the book to win this one. But it took a 78 year old man and his 50 years experience in Indian Politics to put an end to that in Maharashtra.

Sharad Pawar is indeed the master of the game.