Ajit 'Dada': 3 Reasons Why He's Indispensable for Sharad Pawar and the NCP

What makes Ajit Pawar indispensable for Sharad Pawar? A look at his clout in NCP and Maharashtra from 3 key aspects.

Ajit 'Dada': Why Sharad Pawar Can't Afford to Lose Him Even if it Means Quitting

(Photo: The Quint)

"Supriya, ek shabdahi bolu nakos! (Supriya, do not say a word)," ordered a visibly irritated Ajit Pawar as he publicly lashed out at his cousin and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule on Tuesday in front of scores of party leaders and workers.

While the crowd was taken aback, he was quick to retort: "I am saying this to you as your elder brother."

The exchange took place at Mumbai's YB Chavan Centre, the headquarters of the NCP, while party chief Sharad Pawar was trying to pacify a shocked cadre that revolted against his sudden decision to resign from the post and was urging Sule to change her father's mind.

As shocking was his announcement on Tuesday, many believe thatSharad Pawar had expected the protests by party workers but the scale of their revolt was unprecedented for many, including his nephew and possible heir to the NCP Ajit dada.

His little exchange with Sule at the event and constant scolds to party workers was perceived as a small display of 'power play' stemming out of the irritation of the cadre's backlash. For a man who can ask Sharad Pawar's daughter to 'keep quiet' in the presence of Pawar himself, party leaders, workers, and the media must command that kind of clout within the party.

Precisely why, a mistake as big as going behind Pawar's back in 2019 to join hands with Devendra Fadnavis, attempting to engineer a coup on the NCP, and becoming the deputy chief minister for less than 80 hours after Sharad Pawar sealed the MVA alliance was forgiven.

The final verdict over the decision to quit, which was put on hold by Sharad Pawar, is expected on Friday.

But what makes Ajit Pawar so indispensable for Sharad Pawar? A look at his clout in NCP and Maharashtra from three aspects:

1. The loyalties of voters that he commands in Baramati and Pune

2. The key MPs and MLAs considered loyal to him

3. The rich administrative history and hold on bureaucracy

The Loyalties That He Commands

A household name in Baramati, Ajit Pawar has undeniable personal connect with the NCP voters in the region which earned him the popular title dada (elder brother in Marathi).

While Supriya Sule is the national face of the party, Ajit Pawar is more popular among Maharashtra's loyal NCP voters, second only to Sharad Pawar himself.

For over two decades, Ajit Pawar regularly holds sabhas (townhalls) with voters and party workers who seek resolution of several issues. Ajit Pawar is known to get the 'work done' in these meetings in the presence of party office bearers.

In Baramati and Pune Ajit Pawar enjoys massive support of voters in several seats including Daund, Indapur, Baramati, Purandar, Bhor, Maval, Talegaon, and Pimpri Chinchwad among others. The support gives the NCP an upper hand in several local bodies including market committees, milk federations, cooperative societies, and gram panchayats in the entire region.

The biggest sugar factories in Baramati, including cooperative ones, are controlled by Ajit Pawar and his loyalists within the NCP.

The MPs and MLAs that Rally Behind Him

The loyalties of several party leaders towards Ajit Pawar stems from his personal efforts gone into making them heavyweights in their local constituencies, a strategy that political observers say Ajit strongly believes in.

Ensuring maximum funds and administrative support for the party MLAs under every Maharashtra government the NCP has been a part of has been core to the NCP's political strategies.

There are 17-18 MLAs who are considered his hardcore loyalists — Dhananjay Munde (Parali), Ashok Pawar (Shirur), Vilas Lande (independent, ex-Bhosari MLA), Sunil Shelke (Maval), Dattatray Bharne (Indapur), Shekhar Nikam (Chiplun), and Sangram Jagtap (Ahmednagar city) among others.

In fact, a meeting of the MLAs that was called by him after he took oath as Fadnavis' deputy CM in 2019 was called at Dhananjay Munde's residence.

Other than the MLAs, Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel and Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare are also said to be close confidantes of Ajit Pawar.

The Rich Administrative History & Hold on Bureaucracy

In the past three decades, Ajit Pawar has held multiple cabinet posts and has been the deputy chief minister of the state four times.

His first stint with politics came in 1982 when he was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory in Baramati.

Here's a quick look at his administrative career and ministerial posts:

• The Pawar family bastion since 1967, he was elected as the Lok Sabha MP from Baramati for the first time in 1991, a seat he later vacated for Sharad Pawar.

• He has now been an MLA from seat for the seventh consecutive time since 1995. In the Assembly elections held in 2019, he won the seat with the highest margin (over 1.5 lakh votes) of his political career.

• Ajit Pawar was appointed the deputy chief minister for the first time in 2010 in the Prithviraj Chavan cabinet (Congress) after Ashok Chavan was forced to resign as the CM unceremoniously overt corruption allegations.

• His second stint as the deputy CM was once again under Prithviraj Chavan in 2012, third one under Devendra Fadnavis for less than three days in 2019, and the fourth one under Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray from November 2019-June 2022.

• Through the years, he has held several key ministries, including water resources, energy, and finance under various chief ministers.

Political observers say that before Fadnavis was labelled so, Ajit Pawar is perceived as impeccable administrator who knows systems through and through — an experience many say was put well to use during his deputy CM stint with the MVA government that not only sailed through the pandemic but also Uddhav's health issues.

With the number of ministries held in the past two decades, Ajit Pawar has a strong hold in the state's bureaucracy which many consider at par with Fadnavis'.

Will Ajit Pawar Split the NCP and Join Ranks with BJP?

Interestingly, Ajit Pawar is believed to have lost the chance to become the deputy chief minister way back in 2004 when the NCP had emerged as the single largest party in the state in the Assembly polls with 71 seats and ally Congress bagging 69.

Sharad Pawar reportedly negotiated a better deal with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre to agree to a secondary role in the state. While Ajit Pawar was considered to be the frontrunner, the post eventually went to RR Patil.

Ajit Pawar's ambitions to bag the CM post have been public knowledge for years but the NCP, except for 2004, has always been the secondary player in all the alliances it has had with the Congress and then the Shiv Sena in 2019.

However, that might now be subject to change with NCP being the second largest party in the state after the BJP electorally and and in terms of organisational strength.

Joining hands with the BJP would once again mean having to accept the second spot for both the NCP and Ajit Pawar. If recent results in key polls and surveys are any indication, the MVA is only getting stronger in the state with the NCP being the strongest of the three allies following the split in the Shiv Sena last year.

While it suits him politically to stick with the MVA, the hanging sword of a probe by central agencies in a corruption case might actually be the deciding factor of his allegience, sources say.