The doors of politics have not closed for Ajit Pawar, but they have definitely become a little difficult. The option of returning to the family is not completely open, but it is not closed either. This has become clear from the recent statement of Sharad Pawar – but that will be the last option for the Deputy CM of Maharashtra.
For the past few days, pressure has been mounting on BJP to break ties with Ajit Pawar. Such demands are being raised from within BJP as well as from outside from the Sangh. After a report by Marathi magazine Vivek came out, there has been a lot of discussion on this.
Realising the seriousness of the situation against him, Ajit Pawar has also started making all efforts. Ajit Pawar is trying to put pressure on BJP in some way or the other and get a better deal done with it before deciding to return home. The announcement of contesting the civic elections alone also seems to be one such attempt.
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After Amit Shah’s recent visit to Maharashtra, preparations for the assembly elections have also intensified. The biggest difficulty before moving forward with the preparations is the distribution of seats – and Ajit Pawar has already come to Delhi and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the distribution of seats. BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has also met Ajit Pawar at his home on this issue – from the news coming out of the talks and meetings, it seems that it is becoming very difficult for the BJP to fulfill Ajit Pawar’s demands.
Ajit Pawar has taken a tough stand against BJP
Many such incidents are being heard, which are becoming evidence of the relationship between Ajit Pawar and BJP not being the same as before. All this started after the results of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 were announced on June 4.
Winning only one Lok Sabha seat was a shock for Ajit Pawar, and the defeat of his wife Sunetra Pawar from the Baramati seat was also a big shock. Whether the decision to field Sunetra Pawar against Supriya Sule from the Baramati seat was Ajit Pawar’s own decision or he did it under pressure from the BJP, but defeat is painful. However, to reduce the pain of defeat, the BJP has sent Sunetra Pawar to the Rajya Sabha.
Still, the tension between BJP leaders and Ajit Pawar is increasing. A similar scene was seen in a meeting of Maharashtra Cabinet. It is reported that in the cabinet meeting, some ministers of Mahayuti expressed their displeasure with Ajit Pawar regarding the funds. And during the same time, there was an argument between BJP quota minister Girish Mahajan and Ajit Pawar. Ajit Pawar got so angry during the conversation that he started saying, will I sell my land and give funds now?
If we try to understand the news quoting sources, it seems that Ajit Pawar’s tone was a little harsh even in the meeting with Amit Shah. During the meeting with Amit Shah, Ajit Pawar said that the issue of seat sharing should not be kept pending like the Lok Sabha elections, and it should be finalized as soon as possible.
It is said that Ajit Pawar is staking claim on 80 to 90 seats for NCP. Seat sharing in the Mahayuti has become a difficult task for BJP because like Ajit Pawar, Eknath Shinde also wants 100 seats for Shiv Sena, and BJP itself wants to contest on 170-180 seats, whereas there are only 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly.
Does Ajit Pawar want to settle accounts with Sharad Pawar?
Actually, Ajit Pawar wants to field his candidates on those 54 seats of Maharashtra where NCP won in the 2019 assembly elections. By doing this, Ajit Pawar is definitely thinking of challenging his uncle Sharad Pawar afresh. If this is possible, then he will enter the fray to avenge his defeat in Baramati and settle the remaining accounts.
Apart from this, Ajit Pawar also wants to field NCP candidates on 20 seats that went to Congress in the last election. These seats come from Western Maharashtra, Marathwada and North Maharashtra.
It has been learnt that Ajit Pawar wants 4-5 seats in Mumbai’s urban areas for NCP. These are also areas where Congress has been dominant, because there is a large Muslim population here. Ajit Pawar also feels that three independent and three Congress MLAs can also join him, and that is why he has already started staking claim on those seats.
First of all, it was looking difficult for BJP to bargain with its allies in the central government. Nitish Kumar’s demand for special status for Bihar and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s demand for Andhra Pradesh seemed to be the biggest challenge for the BJP leadership, but now it seems that through the budget, BJP has pacified JDU and TDP.
But the seat sharing in Maharashtra is starting to look very difficult right now – because both Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde want so many assembly seats in their share that it is creating problems for the BJP. If the BJP agrees to the demand of both the allies, then it will be forced to contest on even fewer seats than them.
It is believed that the demand for allies of Mahayuti has increased because its own performance in the Lok Sabha elections has not been good. This performance is not good as compared to Congress, but it is better than the parties of Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde. As far as comparison is concerned, Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde should compare themselves with the political parties of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray instead of BJP, in which both of them lag behind.
If Ajit Pawar feels that BJP is compelled to take his support, then it is temporary. The work he has done with Sharad Pawar, anyone else can do the same with him. It is certain that BJP will fully support any new Ajit Pawar who will emerge in NCP – and it should not happen that in this process, the opportunity of homecoming is also lost.