R Krishna Das
When NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule predicted in mid-April that something “big” in political circles will be reckoning in the coming 15 days, she did not expect it to stretch to a couple of months and dent her own house.
Her brother Ajit Pawar stirred the political cauldron on Sunday by splitting the party founded by uncle Sharad Pawar. He took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister for the third time in the past three years, this time joining the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra Government.
Though Speculations were rife that Ajit Pawar would break away and switch over to the BJP-led NDA, the timing added more importance than the political turmoil. Ahead of the Lok Sabha election due within a year, Maharashtra that sends as many as 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh, will struggle to put up a strong opposition against the BJP. Besides, it will also check the increasing clout of Chief Minister Shinde!
The power corridor is abuzz with the speculation who will gain and who will lose in the dramatic turn of events. Literally, the BJP will be a big winner while Pawar and Shinde stand to be a loser.
Sharad Pawar announced that he will rebuild the party but it will be a daunting task, at least before the general election. Another advantage for the BJP will be Ajit Pawar entry will help “cut Shinde to size” as the saffron camp has been wary of Maharashtra Chief Minister “increasing sway” that he has displayed recently.
An advertisement published on front pages of leading newspapers quoting a survey that pegged Shinde’s popularity “higher” than that of Devendra Fadnavis, BJP stalwart and Deputy Chief Minister, has put the ally on alert. The simmering difference between the two spilled out in the open at a function in Palghar when they sat next to each other without exchanging a word.
According to political pandits, not just Fadnavis, several BJP leaders are angry with Shinde and one of the reasons is the Kalyan Dombivli Lok Sabha constituency represented by the CM’s son Dr Shrikant Shinde. The Kalyan Lok Sabha seat has become a focal point of tension between ruling allies, the BJP and the Shiv Sena led by Shinde.
Currently held by Dr Shrikant Shinde, son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the seat has caught the BJP’s attention. With a strong organisational base in Kalyan and a history of electing the late Ram Kapse to both the state assembly and the Lok Sabha, the BJP sees Kalyan as its natural constituency. The party is considering fielding Ravindra Chavan, a minister in the current coalition government, for the upcoming elections, adding to the growing tensions between the two allies.
Moreover, a couple of weeks ago when Amrutha Fadnavis, wife of the deputy Chief Minister, was caught in a controversy, neither Shinde nor any leader of his faction defended them. It widened the rift further.
While Sharad Pawar and other opposition parties will struggle to keep its house in order, Shinde no longer will have the bargaining chip he had till Saturday.
