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Sule was also appointed head of the central election authority, the body which selects party nominees, a move that should elevate her position further within the party hierarchy.
While party leaders clapped and cheered Pawar’s announcement at an event organised in Delhi to mark the party’s 25th foundation day, a grim-looking Ajit Pawar, seated at the far end of the dais away from his uncle, looked visibly uncomfortable, even though he made a half-hearted effort to hide his discontentment behind sunglasses. When party workers broke into a dance and raised slogans for Sule, Ajit made a quick exit, minutes after Pawar Senior cut a cake to celebrate NCP’s foundation day. The choice of Delhi as the venue intrigued many as Mumbai is the political capital of the party.
04:49
Ajit Pawar congratulates Supriya Sule-Praful Patel, says ‘colleagues will successfully fulfill the responsibilities’
The important announcement by Pawar, who recently sought to step down but agreed to stay on after remonstrations by his party colleagues, comes in the backdrop of his nephew’s growing restiveness over the ambiguity of his position. An influential figure in the party’s stronghold of Maratha-dominated western Maharashtra, Ajit had created a sensation in November 2019 when he joined hands with BJP to be sworn in as deputy CM under Devendra Fadnavis.
Though the rebellion petered out and he returned to the NCP fold, speculation about his unease continued, backed by suspicion in his camp that he may be passed over for Sule. In fact, his camp escalated the issue before the party patriarch last month, after which the senior Pawar dramatically announced his “retirement”, a move seen by many as a manoeuvre to assert his control.
On Saturday, however, the NCP leadership was at pains to deny that Ajit, known to be the party’s ‘nuts-and-bolts’ man in Maharashtra’s sugarcane belt, has been sidelined.
04:49
BJP leader Amit Malviya takes a dig at Sharad Pawar, says ‘If Pawar loved his nephew as Mamata loves hers’
“Ajit Pawar already has responsibilities as leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. Similarly, Jayant Patil also had party responsibilities. However, Praful Patel and Supriya Sule did not have party roles, which is why they have been given responsibilities now… To say that Ajit Pawar is angry is not even 1% true,” Sharad Pawar said at a press conference, hours after he announced Patel and Sule’s elevation in the party hierarchy.
On Saturday afternoon, however, Ajit Pawar exited the foundation day celebrations without saying a word of congratulations to Patel, who was seated just a few chairs away.
Faced with a volley of questions, senior party leader Chhagan Bhujbal said, “Ajit Pawar will continue to shoulder his responsibilities as leader of opposition in assembly, a significant role both in the run-up to the 2024 polls as well as the subsequent assembly polls.”
Despite his visible unease in the morning, Ajit Pawar himself went along with the “all is well: we all are one family” theme on social media.
“Under the leadership and guidance of Sharad Pawar Saheb, NCP, which is making a new beginning in its silver jubilee year with the idea of ‘Maharashtra at its heart, eyes on the Nation’, will make a valuable contribution to the development of the country and state. Every worker and office-bearer of NCP will work towards this goal. Congratulations again to the newly elected officials!” he said on Twitter.
Though Sharad Pawar, along with PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar, founded the NCP after they revolted against Sonia Gandhi on grounds of her Italian origin, it was Ajit who looked after the party’s everyday management in Maharashtra, the only state where it counts, perceiving himself to be the natural and legitimate successor of his uncle.
With his claim snubbed, all eyes will be on his next move.
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