IFrom time to time, within the Nationalist Congress Party, there is talk of a rift between the two Pawars – uncle and nephew. The question arises whether the party can accommodate the latter’s political ambitions.
And every time this conflict rears its head even slightly, there is much analysis as to how and when party supremo Sharad Pawar will settle the issue of his succession. The NCP has several candidates, but Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and nephew Ajit Pawar are the main contenders.
On May 2, the octogenarian Pawar gave his answer to all such political critics when he Settle Appointed a committee of senior party leaders and key functionaries to decide who will step down as NCP chief and take over the reins of the party. Sharad Pawar’s decision to step down as party chief is not just an internal matter of the party. This has many potential implications for the politics of the state as well as the country. And that’s why Pawar is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week.
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explanation of resignation
On May 2, coinciding with his decision to step down as party president, the 82-year-old leader also said that he will not contest any election after his current term ends in three years.
There are many theories on why Sharad Pawar decided to spring this surprise on his party leaders.
Senior Pawar’s decision comes at a time when speculation was rife that some legislators, led by nephew Ajit Pawar, might split the NCP and join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Although Ajit Pawar has refuted This conversation A huge crowd of NCP leaders is being told Pressure Their business and assets are investigated by the central agency.
Sharad Pawar’s move, which prompted the entire party to rally behind him, could be to consolidate his hold on the party, just as Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray did after Chhagan Bhujbal’s rebellion in 1992 , who is now with the party. NCP. Thackeray also took back his decision citing the sentiments of the entire cadre of his party. Sharad Pawar did the same on Friday. Like Thackeray, Sharad Pawar’s resignation brought to the fore the deep loyalty of party workers to him. In this environment, any MLA leaving the NCP will help the NCP and Pawar garner more sympathy.
Another theory is that by starting his succession talks while he is still active in politics and holding the strings for everything that happens in the NCP, Sharad Pawar has saved his party from confusion and conflicts in the post-Pawar era. Saved from self-immolation. ,
On Friday, even if Sharad Pawar decided to continue as NCP president, he said his focus would be on building a new leadership for the party.
The senior Pawar said that his nephew Ajit Pawar, who is said to be one of the main claimants to his uncle’s legacy, was aware of the NCP supremo’s plan. He said that is why the Baramati MLA strongly supported him at a time when everyone in the party was urging Sharad Pawar to reconsider his decision to step down as president. He also said that his daughter Supriya’s name was informally proposed as the national president, but he himself rejected the idea. Like Ajit Pawar, all these years, Sule has always been talked about as a power center within the party who could one day take over the reins of the party.
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the consequences of the resignation which were
Sharad Pawar’s resignation had raised a question mark over the future of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an unusual three-party alliance that the NCP president, known as the master of coalitions, orchestrated in 2019 when The Maharashtra state elections had given a major blow. Hung assembly. The MVA consists of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), NCP and Congress.
MVA leaders were cautious in their response to Pawar’s resignation, publicly stating that the event would have no impact on the unity of the alliance.
However, the whole episode of Sharad Pawar first resigning and then taking back his resignation has only helped the MVA. The NCP supremo has assured that his entire party is now under him, and committed to the direction in which he decides to steer it. For the time being at least, the direction is to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha and state assembly elections jointly with the MVA. To consolidate power against the BJP.
When he announced on Friday that he would continue as the NCP chief, Pawar reiterated his commitment to the MVA.
The future and success of the MVA also has implications for national politics, at a time when many regional parties are finding themselves marginalized in the face of an aggressively expanding BJP. And Sharad Pawar’s role in trying to bring together all such regional parties Congress has always been seen as an important rallying point, though he has not always been successful in this, if the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections are anything to go by Signal,
Sharad Pawar has always maintained excellent relations with politicians across party lines, making him a rare interlocutor for opposition unity – something that is crucial for 2024.
(Editing by Anurag Choubey)