Friendly fire in Mahayuti: Why Ajit Pawar has launched calculated strikes on BJP

It was always an uneasy alliance built, as several such tie-ups are, on political expediency and not any shared ideology. Last Friday, amid the local polls in Maharashtra that have led to a strange mish-mash of tie-ups, often between rivals, Deputy CM and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar created a stir when he targeted the BJP in strong language that took everyone by surprise.

Targeting the BJP’s rule in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation from 2017 to 2022, Pawar, whose party has tied up with the NCP (SP) for the elections, said the aim was to “slay the demon of corruption”. “They are power hungry. There is open loot going on,” he said last Friday, adding that the civic body near Pune had massively transformed during the tenure of his uncle Sharad Pawar and then under his leadership from 1991. “But we never got power hungry,” he added.

As the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faced backlash over uncontested wins, Pawar took a dig at his Mahayuti allies. ”During our tenure, too, candidates were elected unopposed. But this happened as per democratic norms and constitutional provisions. But today, there is so much terror in some areas that candidates are afraid to file their nominations.” The BJP and Shiv Sena allies have been elected unopposed in 68 of 69 no-contest seats across municipal corporations, prompting the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Saturday to put the declaration of results on hold and seek reports from local officials to confirm there was no foul play.

The Deputy CM also made comments critical of his allies on Saturday. Soon afterwards, state BJP president Ravindra Chavan issued a veiled warning at Pawar, telling him, “Apne gireban mein jhako (look into your own backyard) … If we open our mouths, he knows where it will lead.”  Chavan then added, “We regret our alliance with Ajit Pawar. I had warned party leaders against the alliance with NCP.”

Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule asked his Cabinet colleague to be “careful while speaking in public, after all, he is our alliance partner in the government”. On Sunday, Bawankule again advised Pawar to exercise restraint. “It was collectively decided during a coordination meeting that leaders of the alliance would not criticise one another during the campaign. Despite this, Ajit Pawar broke the agreement. He should observe restraint in the future,” he told reporters in Jalna.

For the BJP, Pawar’s stinging remarks have come as a surprise since, following their return to power, the party has had more trouble dealing with Sena and Eknath Shinde. In the lead-up to the local polls, the two parties were embroiled in an acrimonious tussle as they attempted to poach each other’s local leaders. Things deteriorated to the extent that Shinde was compelled to make frequent trips to New Delhi to make his case before the BJP’s central leadership and urge them to intervene.

In comparison, Pawar, who shares a cordial relationship with CM Devendra Fadnavis, and the NCP have shared a turbulence-free relationship. Till now.

In a surprise, Fadnavis last week ruled out a tie-up with the NCP in the municipal corporation battles and now the contest has taken a bitter turn. The rapprochement between the two NCP parties was dictated in part by the political compulsion of keeping the BJP out of their shared turf of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The BJP, following its sweep in the Assembly polls in 2024, is looking to expand across the state in grassroots level as its ambition is to not depend on any allies in the future in Maharashtra. The straight math shows that the BJP, with 137 MLAs out of 288, does not exactly need its allies since it can find the eight MLAs needed to cross the halfway mark from smaller parties and Independents. A stronger BJP at the grassroots level is, thus, a cause for concern for its allies who may see their leverage in the alliance eroded even further.

These demands of realpolitik  — keeping its bigger ally in check and safeguarding its own political interests — led to both the alliance with the NCP (SP) in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and the outburst against the BJP over corruption. According to NCP insiders, Ajit Pawar knows very well what issues would play well with his base, and that explains his more than usual harsh comments about his party’s ally.

For the BJP, accountability and transparency in governance have been parts of its pitch to voters since its return to power and a direct hit on the issue of corruption from an ally could be damaging.

“We don’t need a certificate from Ajit Pawar on credibility and clean image. Everybody knows about PM Narendra Modi and Fadnavis’ credibility and image,” said a senior BJP minister on the condition of anonymity. Another leader who wished to remain anonymous reminded Ajit Pawar about the Rs 70,000 irrigation scam in which he had faced legal trouble and insinuated it could be revived again.

However, it may not be easy for the BJP to target the Deputy CM over corruption, given that they brought him over to the alliance despite the shadow of these allegations and may itself get targeted over the politics of convenience. Sensing this, Ajit Pawar last week said, “I was accused in the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam. But then what happened? Today, I am sitting next to the very people who questioned me. Have the allegations been proved?”