In politics, if keeping everyone—friends and foes alike—guessing is an art, Sharad Pawar can easily be described as a maestro. Pawar’s apparent out-of-the-blue announcement to relinquish the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) presidency on Tuesday morning may have left his partymen and competitors rattled and shocked, it’s not at all surprising coming from a man who is known for his skill of killing many birds with one stone. Pawar was speaking at an event at the Y B Chavan Centre, the institute he founded in memory of his mentor and Maharashtra’s first chief minister, organised to release his political biography. Addressing the gathering, Pawar in his true slow-motion style, recalled the state’s history from the day it came into being on May 1, 1960. He went down memory lane chronicling his political journey till the date and towards the end; in his typical, nonchalant way, announced the decision to give up the post of NCP chief. It was not that only NCP leaders and workers gathered there were caught off guard by Pawar’s announcement, it took a while even for a large number of mediapersons, too, to realise what they witnessed was a ‘breaking news’. If cricket’s analogy is to be used, Pawar’s move can be dubbed as ‘googly’ or ‘doosra’. By this move, Pawar has raised his stature over his wobbly outfit besieged by a number of exits and constant poaching by the BJP. His resignation also creates an invisible wall around him that the opposition will find it difficult to penetrate. Difficult, because he can’t be held responsible for NCP’s misdeeds, if any, anymore. Taking NCP out of Pawar can be akin to taking Tata out of JRD or Ratan. Here onwards his position will be like that of ‘chairman emeritus’. But at the same time, he will not involve himself in the party’s day-to-day activities. Besides, the ‘chairman emeritus’ status will give him the freedom he wanted to project himself as a ‘statesman’ who can give up the leadership of a party he founded. In Indian political context, respect for anyone voluntarily giving up the leader’s chair—a so-called tyag—grows manifold. Maharashtra is set to witness this. With this elevated stature, Pawar will get more elbow room and authority in his efforts to bring non-BJP parties together. With the state Assembly polls and general elections just round the corner, free and ‘apolitical’ Pawar will be more potent for the Opposition than being a mere one party chief. Another unseen but certainly not unintended target of Pawar’s move is a bunch of NCP leaders who were rumoured to be in touch with the BJP. Biggest suspect was his nephew Ajit Pawar. The NCP’s angry young man was believed to be plotting a kind of rebellion against his uncle, apparently trying to free himself from the shadows of his more illustrious uncle. Some other names, too, were doing the rounds along with Ajit as likely defectors. In a way, Ajitdada had every reason to be upset or feel disenchanted in the NCP. Though he shares the NCP’s founders’ family name, there is hardly anything common between the two. Besides the reality that he will always have to play second fiddle to Sharad Pawar. But by removing himself from the party president’s post, Pawar has thrown down the gauntlet at all within the NCP who were aspiring to play a major role. It will be politically suicidal to defect here onwards as that will invite NCP supporters’ wrath. By announcing the resignation in full media glare and while being in the midst of a large number of party workers, Pawar has pressed an emotional button, so overwhelming that his lieutenants were left frozen. Till now, it was Pawar’s daughter MP Supriya Sule who was trying hard to keep the flock intact, here onwards, it will also be equally Ajit and others’ responsibility. For those uninitiated, Pawar’s move may look shocking. But for the man who has scripted many such shocks in his over six decades of eventful political career, the decision to quit the party chief’s post was anything but shocking. The writer is Editor, Loksatta
