NCP president and Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar during an interview with The Hindu at his residence in Pune on November 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
Fighting the toughest battle of his political career, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Ajit Pawar will field candidates on 56 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly election. Pitted against his uncle and NCP(SP) president Sharad Pawar, whose party contests on 87 seats, the fight on the home turf of Baramati and in other constituencies will decide whom the people of Maharashtra trust. This is the first State Assembly election after the vertical split in the NCP and the Shiv Sena, the two strong regional parties, making the entire process an unprecedented one for the State. In an interview at his bungalow in Pune, Ajit Pawar, known to never mince his words, says that he wants the people of Maharashtra to trust him and to give him a chance on the basis of his work experience as a good administrator.
“I did not leave him. All the MLAs wrote to him and he gave his permission,” Mr. Ajit Pawar said, when asked if he thought he had made a mistake by parting ways with Mr. Sharad Pawar.
When asked if there was any possibility of reconciliation, he said he did not want to answer hypothetical questions at this juncture.
“Everything is at stake for us in this election, but so it is for them [the Opposition]. We have corrected mistakes we committed during the Lok Sabha election. The atmosphere is different now,” he said. On the recent controversy over Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “batoge toh katoge” (If we don’t stay united, we will be destroyed) remark, he said his party had not left its secular moorings despite being in an alliance with the BJP and Shiv Sena.
On his chief ministerial aspirations and whether he thinks Maharashtra would once again see the CM candidate being chosen from the smaller party in the alliance, much like Bihar, he said: “I am not the kind of person who hides his aspirations. But am not thinking of it right now. If I say anything, it disturbs the alliance partners.”
Dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, with the NCP’s clock symbol pinned close to its centre button, Mr. Ajit Pawar looked relaxed. He laughed while fielding questions and attended to waiting party workers, amid a packed campaigning schedule.
In the Lok Sabha election, Mr. Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) had won eight of the 10 seats it fought, and Mr. Ajit Pawar’s faction could win only one seat.
Full interview:
This is an unprecedented election for Maharashtra. How is the battle for you and for your party?
This election is very important for us because we have to show to the people the work we have done as a government of three parties. We will be tested in this election. Everything is at stake for us. But so it is for the Opposition. Nobody can deny that. But we have rectified the mistakes we did during the Lok Sabha election. The onion export ban had hit us hard then. We have lifted that ban. Onion farmers are getting a good rate now. There was a lot of negativity during the Lok Sabha election. That has come down. The monsoon has been good. The farmers are happy. We have given aid to the farmers, helped them get electricity. We are working on the solar power project to give them electricity in the day. We have already deposited ₹7,500 in each woman’s account under the Ladki Bahin Yojana.
All three of you have been speaking about the Ladki Bahin Yojana.
This is the scheme because of which women are happy. They feel empowered economically. They did not have any money for themselves. They had to depend on their family members. So the scheme has definitely benefited them. Not just that, we are giving three cylinders free, we are giving free higher education to women. When we come back to power, we will continue these schemes ahead. Because of all these things, the voters will think of us.
This is the first time that the NCP faces the NCP. How formidable is the challenge of Sharad Pawar, particularly on the background of their Lok Sabha performance where they won eight of the 10 seats?
I have never underestimated the challenge of my Opposition. I have never trivialised anyone. The candidate has to be given his due respect (his nephew Yugendra Pawar contests against him on the home turf of Baramati) The voter has to be given respect. I have a strong grip over administration. I have proven for so many years how I work with transparency, how my financial planning and discipline is good. Maharashtra knows it. Pune knows it. I appeal to Maharashtra at this juncture, please give me an opportunity. I will prove worthy if the opportunity is given to me. I do not sit meekly, complain and cry. I deliver results. That is my motto. I have done it in the past, and I will do it in the future. Maharashtra should trust me.
How many seats do you think your party will get?
I am not an oracle to answer that question. But I can only say that what happened in Lok Sabha will not happen in the State Assembly election. We are all striving to get the maximum number of seats. People will trust us.
How many seats will Mahayuti get?
It will definitely get over 175 seats.
Recently, your senior colleague Dilip Walse Patil said that in case there is no clear majority, different political combinations will have to be explored. What do you think? In that condition, will you go back to Sharad Pawar?
He thinks that way. But I am sure about my opinion. And I think that such a situation will not arise. We will see the inclination of the State when the counting begins on November 23. We will have called our legislative party meeting of the Mahayuti then.
Do you regret leaving Sharad Pawar? Is there any possibility of reconciliation?
I did not leave him. All the party MLAs took the decision and wrote a letter to Sharad Pawar and he gave his permission. The letter is still there in his record. This is not just about me. I do not want to say anything further. I don’t want to create new problems. I have decided only one thing — to work hard and to win the maximum number of seats for Mahayuti.
There were recent reports in the media that you have left your stake on the Chief Minister’s position. What is the truth?
Our target is to get 175 seats. If I make any statement about this, there is restlessness in the alliance partners. Eknath Shinde’s workers will fear he won’t get an opportunity. Devendra Fadnavis’ workers fear if he will miss the opportunity. It is better if all the party workers work together to get Mahayuti voted to power.
On allegations that you have compromised on secularism, particularly after Yogi Aadityanath’s comments on ‘Batoge to katoge’, how do you justify the alliance?
We believe in the Shiv-Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar ideology. In the last one-and-a-half years, even the BJP has had to adjust. We have brought schemes for the minorities. We have different ideologies, but we run the government together. Now, one CM from another State gives such a statement. Maharashtra doesn’t give response to these things.
When you ask about secularism, I feel this about everyone, not just about us. Mamata Banerjee was a part of the Vajpayee government, and yet she is secular. Nitish Kumar was a part of the BJP, then dumped them and went to Lalu Prasad Yadav, then dumped him and came back. Similar is the story about Chandrababu Naidu. And yet, they are all secular. Ours is the same way. We haven’t yet left our ideology.
Will the Nitish Kumar pattern be implemented in Maharashtra after the election?
I haven’t yet thought of any pattern. I am not someone who hides his aspirations, but I haven’t yet thought about it. I have been tested enough till now. Right now, the only aspiration is to get 175+ seats. I will answer the other questions only after that.
Did you speak with Sharad Pawar then about your name in the irrigation scam? What did he say? You still sound hurt about it.
I am human. I feel hurt that I was defamed in an alleged ₹70,000 scam. R.R. Patil is no more. Else I would have asked him why he signed an open inquiry against me. But the total expenditure of the water resources department since the formation of Maharashtra was ₹42,000 crore. How can there be a scam of ₹70,000 crore? I had spoken with Sharad Pawar sahab. A White Paper was brought out in the matter thereafter, which said there was an irregularity, and not corruption.
Published – November 09, 2024 11:02 pm IST