Fissures resurface in MVA over Ajit Pawar’s ‘soft’ stand towards Shinde-Fadnavis govt.

Partners of Opposition MVA accuse him of not being ‘forceful’ enough on State government; differences with NCP State chief Jayant Patil also reflect a potential struggle for the party’s control,

The suspension of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) State president Jayant Patil for the better part of the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Assembly session and the perceived ‘softness’ of Patil’s party colleague Ajit Pawar (who is Leader of Opposition) towards the ruling Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis dispensation has again brought tensions within the Sharad Pawar-led party to the fore. 

Mr. Ajit, known for his outspoken talk, has long had a chequered career within the NCP. 

Be it his 2012 resignation or his 2019 short-lived ‘alliance’ with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, Mr. Ajit’s unpredictability has startled not just party bigwigs but has had reverberations for the politics of the state as well. 

The rift between Mr. Patil, a seven-term MLA from Sangli’s Islampur-Walwa constituency who is believed to be a Sharad Pawar loyalist, is also reflective of a potential struggle for control of the NCP after Mr. Sharad Pawar’s exit. 

Again, Mr. Ajit’s ‘friendship’ with BJP leader and Deputy CM Fadnavis has led his detractors and ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ partners (the Congress and the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction) to accuse him of not being ‘forceful’ enough on the ruling Shinde-Fadnavis government. 

According to observers, Mr. Ajit’s ‘aggression’ in cornering the Shinde-led Sena- BJP coalition has been fitful at best. 

“The Opposition ideally could have made a big issue of Mr. Patil’s resignation, but the necessary momentum from Mr. Ajit was absent. No wonder it prompted a call from Mr. Sharad Pawar to his nephew,” said a Mumbai-based analyst.