Political Upheaval in Maharashtra Since 2019: Three CMs, Deputy No. 2 Ajit Pawar, and New Claim to NCP

Maharashtra politics have seen a rollercoaster since 2019 with three different chief ministers, and in a recent twist, Ajit Pawar took the oath of office as the second deputy chief minister on Sunday. The NCP politician, like chief minister Eknath Shinde, parted out with his party’s leadership and joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alongside at least 40 other MLAs. He is now asserting that his “faction” is the “real NCP,” just as Shinde did with the Shiv Sena.

The political unrest in the state started shortly after the 2019 assembly elections. In an early morning swearing-in ceremony, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar took the oath of office as chief minister and deputy, however this administration barely lasted three days. Ajit took the oath once again as the deputy CM when the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA administration assumed office a few months later. On June 30 of last year, Shinde defied Uddhav and assumed office as CM, with Fadnavis serving as his deputy. Shinde now has two deputies as a result of Ajit’s appointment to the cabinet. The NCP leader is serving his third stint as deputy CM, which is his fifth overall.

The BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP coalition is now the strongest in the state. “We shall run in every election under the NCP’s banner and with its party emblem. Actual numbers and a majority are crucial components in a democracy. Let me tell you, the party leadership has been informed that we have the backing of all MLAs. Ajit said, “He has the support of all the party’s leaders. In the past, we broke away from the Congress to create the NCP and run for office. What is wrong with allying with the BJP if we can cooperate with the Shiv Sena?

The top official lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his efforts at the press conference. When asked how many MLAs supported him, he asserted his position inside the party but could not provide a precise figure. But he said, “All MLAs are with us, and we have the leadership’s blessing.”

Ajit was also seen with Prafull Patel at Raj Bhavan and during the press conference. Prafull Patel was recently selected as the working president of the party with Supriya Sule. This shows that Ajit has a firm grip on his party, and this time, in addition to Patel, he has been successful in enlisting the support of other Sharad Pawar confidants, including Dilip Walse-Patil, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Ramraje Nimbalkar, and Hasan Mushrif. All of these figures backed Sharad Pawar’s decision to leave the Congress and create the NCP.

The NCP bench in the legislative assembly has become stronger since Ajit joined the Shinde-led administration. The CM expressed his happiness with Ajit’s inclusion, saying that his wealth of knowledge would be helpful, however certain Sena leaders (Shinde followers) are not delighted. They believe that Sena would have fewer cabinet positions in the next expansion as a result of the inclusion of NCP MLAs in the government.

 

Sanjay Raut, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), said that Maharashtra would soon have a new chief minister since Shinde and 16 other MLAs are being sued for being ineligible for office. According to him, the BJP has enlisted Ajit and the NCP only in case Shinde and the MLAs are found to be ineligible.

“Today, the BJP, which had claimed that the NCP was the most corrupt party, appointed certain NCP politicians to cabinet positions. Ajit did let us know that he was giving up his role as opposition leader. I had convened a meeting of key NCP figures on July 6. However, some of the leaders have changed their tune and are now referring to themselves as “the party.” But many leaders have phoned me and stated they were requested to sign the support document, so all will become obvious in the coming days, according to NCP head Sharad Pawar.

He said, “If they are claiming the party, then we will ask the people to make a decision on this. The state elections were won by 56 MLAs under my leadership in the 1980s as well. However, for some reason, 50 MLAs joined their party, and I was left in charge of the remaining six. Therefore, I am not surprised by the occurrence today since I have dealt with it before.

According to Pawar, the party would take proper action moving forward since “I had appointed (Sunil) Tatkare and Prafull Patel as office-bearers of the party, and they failed to take action against party members who took a different stance.”

On Monday, the veteran will drive to Karad to visit YB Chavan’s monument before beginning to meet people. “I trust people and voters, I will ask them to decide,” he says, “but those who left the party in the past lost the elections.”

Furthermore, Sharad Pawar made it plain that he would not be appealing Ajit’s choice to the court.