Mumbai:
Is the impulsive streak in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar’s behavior proving to be his Achilles heel? Ever since he joined active politics in 1991, this impulsive behavior has proved to be his undoing many times. The most recent act of being brash was his sudden disappearance and teaming up with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in forming a short-lived three day government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on November 23.
A day earlier, without giving any intimation to anyone, the rebellious NCP leader had walked out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi meeting. It was only after a loyal legislator rang up NCP president Sharad Pawar in the wee hours of the morning that Pawar senior came to know what his enfant terrible, nephew had done.
This is not the first time that he has done so. In September 2012, when the BJP leveled allegations of corruption in the multi-crore irrigation scam, Ajit Pawar had tendered his resignation from the ministry. Only to return back to the ministry after the dust of the controversy had settled down.
Only last month, on October 8, just as when his uncle, NCP president had dared the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged loan scam of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB or apex bank) and hogged the limelight for the better part of the day, by evening as has been his want, without informing anyone he called on legislative assembly speaker Haribhau Bagade and tendered his resignation as the MLA of the 13th legislative assembly.
The entire limelight that his uncle had hogged for most part of the day suddenly shifted on to Ajit Pawar. Thereafter, he remained incommunicado for most part of the next day and returned back by evening. By then the damage had been done. He later tried to gloss it over by arguing that he had been hurt and could not stand the sight of the trouble the ED probe had caused to his uncle.
In the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he once again had thrown temper tantrums and forced Pawar senior from withdrawing his candidature and instead give the party ticket to his son Parth from the Madha Lok Sabha seat. After his son lost the elections badly he then had famously hinted to his son that it would be better if he chose agriculture over politics
Today, on Thursday afternoon, he yet again went sulking as the party refused to accept his demand for a rotational chief minister. He then is reported to have staked his claim for the Deputy Chief Ministers post. Speaking to newspersons later, he yet again clarified that he had not done one of his predictable revolts. Pawar junior argued that he had not revolted and neither was he feeling unhappy, but merely taken a stand and would speak his mind at the opportune time.
Critics argue that Ajit Pawar by indulging in these repeated acts of rebellion has dug himself into a hole. His drift with his uncle began after the latter brought his daughter Supriya Sule into the political limelight giving his Baramati Lok Sabha seat to her, clearly indicating who was his heir apparent. Since then the trust deficit has only increased and today the repeated rebellions are only pushing Ajit Pawar on the verge of political oblivion.
