sudden Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar dies Wednesday’s chartered aircraft crash close to Baramati not solely surprised politics in Maharashtra, but in addition forged a shadow over long-simmering reconciliation efforts between rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Get together (NCP), led by him and his uncle, get together founder Sharad Pawar.
Just some weeks in the past, political circles had been abuzz with hypothesis that the 2 international locations, divided since Ajit Pawar’s dramatic exit to hitch the Bharatiya Janata Get together-led Mahayuti authorities in 2023, had been properly on their approach to a household and political reunion. Leaders from each side have avoided innuendo in public, and the 2 sides even got here collectively to contest municipal polls in Pune, a symbolic experiment in cooperation seen by many as a precursor to a serious merger.
Ajit Pawar himself has struck a conciliatory tone in latest media interactions, downplaying previous grudges and exhibiting openness to reconciliation by insisting that he believes in “addition, not subtraction.” “Staff of each events wish to come collectively. The 2 NCPs are collectively now. All the strain in our household is over,” Ajit Pawar mentioned in a media interview earlier than and after the municipal polls.
Discussions within the political corridors progressed additional. In an association rigorously balanced to go well with household and factional pursuits, a unified NCP might work collectively inside the Mahayuti framework in Maharashtra, together with hypothesis that Sharad Pawar’s grand-nephew Rohit Pawar might discover a place within the state authorities, whereas Ajit Pawar’s spouse may very well be thought-about for a task within the Union Cupboard Council.
What would have been the impression if the merger had occurred?
Such a merger would even have had nationwide implications. The Bharatiya Janata Get together is going through a setback in Maharashtra within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and a mix of Pawar’s two factions might have elevated its parliamentary illustration. With eight members, the mixed physique can have one much less member than the BJP’s tally in Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar’s organizational management within the state, coupled together with his uncle’s remaining nationwide place, was seen as having the potential to stabilize the ruling coalition.
That total political calculation now stays unraveled.
What’s subsequent for NCP?
In Delhi, the impression of the information was quick and extremely emotional. As information of Pawar’s loss of life unfold on Wednesday morning, get together employees and leaders started gathering on the NCP’s Delhi workplace at 79 North Avenue. The ambiance was unimaginable.
“The final feeling was shock. Individuals stored saying they could not consider Ajit Dada was gone,” mentioned a senior get together official who was current.
Beneath a tin awning within the courtyard of the bungalow that homes their workplace, leaders have positioned a framed photograph of Pawar, with a poster from his birthday celebrations from July 22 final yr nonetheless seen within the background. Staff lined as much as lay flowers.
Get together nationwide basic secretary and chief spokesperson Brajmohan Shrivastav recalled that Pawar final visited his workplace about 5 months in the past. “We mentioned his plans for the get together and municipal elections in Delhi. He had grand plans to develop the get together within the nationwide capital,” he mentioned.
In Shrivastav’s room, a small group of leaders shared reminiscences of Pawar’s “amiable character” and skill to make even junior employees really feel vital. “His sensitivity and readability might be remembered for generations to come back,” mentioned Kuldeep Okay. Bhujo, core committee member of the NCP’s Delhi unit. “I am unable to consider I will not see him once more.”
Shrivastav is making ready to go away for Pune and mentioned it’s too early to speak concerning the political implications. “His stays haven’t but been cremated. How can we take into consideration something apart from his legacy and reminiscence?” he mentioned. “The get together might be properly led, however now isn’t the time to speak about it. It should occur ultimately.”
Past unhappiness, Mr. Pawar’s loss of life leaves behind an vital determine who was seen by many as a bridge – nevertheless fragile – between the BJP and sections of the Pawar household, and between the 2 factions of the NCP itself. Though his faction loved higher legislative energy and a safe place within the authorities, Sharad Pawar’s camp retained symbolic authority and a separate help base.
With out Ajit Pawar on the helm, questions come up about who will lead his faction, how cohesive it stays, and whether or not the momentum towards a reunion with Sharad Pawar’s aspect will survive. “It might even be hastened because the NCP is feeling a management disaster. The get together has very shut ties to the Pawar household and there’s no one within the get together worthy of changing Ajit Dada,” mentioned a Maharashtra politician.
For the BJP and its companion Mahayuti, the event additionally complicates the calculus of an alliance within the politically essential state. What was shaping up as a probably advantageous consolidation has now been changed by uncertainty, succession disputes, and new negotiations.
Ajit Pawar’s loss of life is due to this fact not solely a private and organizational loss for his supporters. It additionally abruptly modified the trajectory of political realignment that might reshape Maharashtra’s energy construction within the coming months.
