Mumbai: The recent statement of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has raised hackles in political circles in general and in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in particular. While interacting media persons during an event organised by TV9 news channel.in Mumbai, Fadnavis had said that the NCP President Sharad Pawar had backed his plan in 2019 to form the government with his nephew Ajit Pawar, and that this statement was “very much true” and he was not lying, a report said.
Stressing his point, Fadnavis had said that whatever he had said was 100 percent true, and there was no lie in it. He won’t speak today on various interpretations that are being derived. He wants to speak more on this, and he will speak at an appropriate time and that time is yet to come, Fadnavis told reporters in Pune.
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Reacting to Fadnavis statement, Sharad Pawar had said that he felt that Fadnavis was a cultured person and a gentleman. He never felt that he would take recourse to falsehood and make such a statement.
Another interesting chapter was thus opened in the story of exactly what went down on November 23, 2019. Bhagat Singh Koshyari, then Governor, swore in Fadnavis as Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar as Deputy CM in an early morning ceremony. The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 105 seats in the October elections. The Shiv Sena, which was in alliance with the BJP, had won 56 seats.
Despite having enough seats to form the government together, the two allies bickered over power-sharing — who will get the CM’s post being the bone of contention. Ajit Pawar took a large number of MLAs over to the BJP to get up the required strength.
The question is whether Sharad Pawar knew his nephew was going to cross the floor and gave his blessings to the move. He says he had no idea about his nephew’s moves. Fadnavis says he knew all along. Someone is being economical with the truth. In any case, the Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar gambit did not work. The government lasted just three days, after which Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as CM.
According to a recent book by Priyam Gandhi-Mody, it reiterates Fadnavis’s assertion that Ajit Pawar had the full support of his uncle in forming the government. The book records a call Fadnavis made to Sharad Pawar to seal Ajit Pawar’s defection where talks appeared to be at such an advanced stage that the NCP and BJP discussed not just portfolios but even Guardian Ministers once they’d helped each other to form the government. It also describes a conversation between Sharad Pawar and Prime Minister Modi that suggests talks were at an advanced stage — before Pawar senior changed his mind, settling for other friends.
Fadnavis has been withering in his assessment of Sharad Pawar for long. At a media conclave some years ago, he said in reply to a question: “He likes to play chess and I don’t much like the game. Sharad Pawar is incessantly obsessed with the politics of power and subterfuge, but I am interested only in development.”
By questioning his credibility and destroying his reputation, possibly Fadnavis wants to destroy an icon of Maharashtra. On the other hand, how can you fault Fadnavis for this? He is a young man, looking to the future with hope. Friendship with Ajit Pawar and the eventual destruction of the NCP can only strengthen him and the BJP.
