MAHA TWISTPawar expels nephew, dares Fadnavis on trust vote

Shiv Kumar

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Tribune News Service

Mumbai, November 23

Hours after his nephew Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Deputy CM, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, who was accompanied by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, said Chief Minister

Devendra Fadnavis did not have the numbers to win the trust vote on the floor of the House.

Addressing the media, Pawar produced three MLAs of the NCP who accused Ajit of luring them to Raj Bhavan where they were paraded before Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.

“Ten or 11 MLAs accompanied Ajit Pawar to Raj Bhavan this morning. Three are with me here and the others will soon follow,” Pawar claimed. “The MLAs who are still with Ajit Pawar know that they stand to lose their membership of the Assembly under the anti-defection law. All of them are in touch with us,” he said.

The Maratha chieftain pointed out that as leader of the NCP Legislature Party, Ajit had a list of signatures of all party MLAs. “I assume he submitted the same to the Governor,” Pawar said.

Three MLAs, who were taken to Raj Bhavan, told the media they were duped by Ajit Pawar. “He called me for a discussion. Other MLAs were there too. We were suddenly taken to Raj Bhavan and before we could comprehend what was happening, the oath ceremony was done,” MLA Rajendra Shingane said. His testimony was backed by two other MLAs — Sandip Kshirsagar and Sunil Bhusara.

The three said they contacted Sharad Pawar as soon as they stepped out of Raj Bhavan.

Addressing the media, Uddhav Thackeray said the BJP was indulging in horse-trading. “Let them try luring any Shiv Sena MLA and they know what awaits them,” Thackeray warned. Hitting out at Fadnavis, he

said the CM did not respect democratic values. “….. From now on, there is no need for elections. Instead of saying ‘I will return’, some people should simply apply Fevicol to their chair and sit on it,” he mocked.

Later in the day, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said Ajit Pawar had given a letter of support on behalf of all 54 NCP MLAs. “There is no need for a letter from each legislator. The letter from the leader

of the Legislatire Party is sufficient,” he told the media.

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Master strategist Shah swings it again

BLUB: Drama far from over. Resort politics, political manoeuvres and drama next

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Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 23

Dramatic happenings in Mumbai in the wee hours are proof enough that BJP’s master strategist

Amit Shah was silently working on a Maharashtra plan even as the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress

held marathon meetings. However, the drama is far from over.

Resort politics has just begun and what is expected is a whole lot of political manoeuvring, intrigue and drama ahead of floor test by newly anointed CM Devendra Fadnavis.The BJP could not have afforded to lose Maharashtra. Shah and his lieutenants ensured that this did not happen. The NDA, which lost an ally in the Shiv Sena, gained a new one while giving the collation an altogether new look and perspective.

No one could have envisaged a split in the NCP with its very own strategist Sharad Pawar at the helm. Whether nephew Ajit Pawar’s decision was prompted by personal reasons, such as the “irrigation scam”, or by the desire to take control of the NCP is a separate point of debate.

The manner in which the BJP, which on Friday had said the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress would not last beyond “six to eight months”, swooped in to form government in Maharashtra with “strange bedfellow” Ajit Pawar, confirms that politics is the art of the impossible.The saffron party would have had much more to worry if the three “ideologically mismatched” partners had manged to pull through for full five years in the politically important Maharashtra with the second largest number of MPs in the Lok Sabha (48) after Uttar Pradesh (80).

The BJP leadership was worried, not just regarding Maharashtra but also states going to the polls soon. The Maharashtra experiment would have acted as template for political explorations by its rivals. Besides, it would have demoralised the party cadre. Analysts point out that had it not been for NCP and Congress turncoats, the BJP would have won seats much less than 105 in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

Speculation persists on what transpired when Sharad Pawar met PM Narendra Modi earlier this week. Whether the former masterminded the dramatic coup today or was “stabbed” in the back by his nephew, only time will tell.