Maharashtra and its saga of political rebels go hand in hand. The NCP in Maharashtra has been experiencing ripples since May 2023. Party chief Sharad Pawar's nephew, and former NCP heavyweight, Ajit Pawar, joined hands with the ruling Eknath Shinde government in a fresh jolt to the already-tumultuous Maharashtra politics. Ajit took oath as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra on July 2. Several other turncoat NCP MLAs were present with him extending their support.
History repeating itself in Maharashtra?
This jumping of ship by Ajit Pawar, aka "Dada", in Maharashtra political circles, has a stark resemblance with his uncle Sharad's move back in 1978. After the Emergency ended in 1977, the Congress party had split into two factions - Congress (Urs), headed by ex-Karnataka CM Devraj Urs and Congress (I), helmed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. However, in the 1978 Maharashtra Assembly polls, both these Congress factions joined hands to defeat the Janta Party. Later, they managed to form a government and Vasantdada Patil was made the chief minister.
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Sharad Pawar, who was part of the Congress (Urs), became part of the Patil government and even got a ministerial berth. However, in a surprisng turn of events, Pawar later rebelled from his party and joined forces with a few Janta Party members to become the youngest ever chief minister of Maharshtra at the age of 38. But, this tenure didn't last for more than two years and he was ousted in 1980. He was elected chief minister twice more after that.
In 1986, Sharad Pawar joined the Congress again, but this political alliance wasn't meant to last long as the Grand Old Party had split into two in 1999 when Sonia Gandhi took over as party chief. Pawar, along with other leaders, revolted against the Congress' decision of choosing Gandhi as party president due to her foreign origin. A disgruntled Pawar then went ahead and formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Hence, Ajit's mutiny is giving pundits the flashback of senior Pawar's political adventures in his heydays.
Sharad Pawar, born in Pune in 1940, is one of the most well-known veterans in national politics. A cancer survivor, he has seen many ups and downs in personal as well as political life. With the recent turmoil in his home state, one thing's for sure - the senior Pawar won't be taking his rebel nephew's actions lying down.