MUMBAI: In what a day of numbers, a student showed he is better at it than his esteemed teacher. Rebel NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar wasn’t bluffing when he claimed the bulk of the party’s legislators were on his side, as a meeting he convened at Bandra on Wednesday was attended by 32 of the 53 party MLAs. In comparison, a parallel meeting party chief Sharad Pawar called at the Y B Chavan Centre drew just 16 MLAs. The remaining five were neutral.
While Ajit addressed the meeting with all prominent leaders, Sharad Pawar’s gathering had new and young faces. The mood in the Pawar senior camp was nervous, while the rival camp appeared confident.
After days of paying lip service to Sharad Pawar, the gloves were finally off as nephew Ajit asked him to retire from active politics gracefully and hand over the reins to him. “Even government officials retire at a certain age, but Uncle Sharad Pawar wants to remain at the helm of the party forever. Why?” he wondered. Sources said Ajit aims to get 45 MLAs on his side by and by.
“In the meeting, 32 MLAs came out publicly in support of Ajit Pawar. There are other fence-sitters who will take a decision at the eleventh hour. A few other MLAs who attended the meeting called by Sharad Pawar today are likely to switch sides when Ajit gets elevated as chief minister. Once the Ajit camp has the numbers, it can claim the right over the party, including its name, flag and election symbol,” said sources.
Ajit’s present revolt is better managed this time around because most of the senior party leaders who were close aides of Sharad Pawar are now in his camp. His previous rebellion was easily broken by his uncle as Ajit hadn’t done enough spadework, sources added.
To avoid poaching, Ajit has decided to lodge MLAs in his camp at a five-star luxury hotel in Mumbai. “Ajit has been promised by the top leadership of the BJP that he will get the CM’s post if he can muster the numbers. Once the legal process is over, the MLAs will be sent home,” sources added.
Time to gracefully retire, says Ajit
“You are 83, aren’t you going to stop? Everybody has his innings. The most productive years are from 25 to 75 years. Give us your blessings and we will pray that you live a long life... ‘For us, Saheb (Sharad Pawar) is a deity and we have deep respect for him. IAS officers retire at 60. Even in politics, BJP leaders retire at 75,” Ajit said
Dangles carrot of funds and posts
Ajit appears to have assured all his supporting legislators that he will allocate sufficient funds for contesting Maharashtra and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Some of them will be inducted as ministers while others would get cushy posts like chairperson of state cooperative bodies. Sources said Ajit also promised big development funds to the MLAs on his side so that they would have something to show in their respective constituencies when they seek re-election.
