Don’t Rule Out Sharad Pawar

THE LAST WORD in the maha drama in Maharashtra may not have been written yet. Don’t rule out Sharad Pawar himself surprising everyone by jumping on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) bandwagon. At least, that is not beyond him given his reputation for doing all manner of somersaults. The fact that he had blessed the original Fadanavis-Ajit Pawar government, which had lasted all of 36 hours, ought to give you some idea of his ability to spring surprises. For when it comes to the wily old fox of Indian politics, nothing can be ruled out. With his closest lieutenant Praful Patel teaming up with nephew Ajit and partnering the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sharad Pawar does cut a lonely figure in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) rump.

At 82, relying on playing the victim card to revive his political fortunes remains an iffy task. For, his daughter Supriya Sule has barely soiled her hands in the rough and tumble of grassroots politics, something Ajit Pawar, it is widely acknowledged, was very good at. Sule was the face of NCP in the high society of Mumbai by dint of being her father’s daughter.

Ajit Pawar is a quintessential regional politician, having shown no interest in national politics while uncle Pawar at one time did reckon his chances of being prime minister. He missed that bus long ago, especially because nobody was ready to trust him. The humble farmer from Karnataka, HD Deve Gowda, was trusted, but a far more cosmopolitan and well-versed in world affairs Sharad Pawar was not.

Remember that the novel idea to privatise vast tracts of defence land was first mooted when Pawar Sr was defence minister. Indeed, they say land and Pawar Sr have an inextricable relationship—how much land he controls directly or indirectly in Maharashtra remains a guessing game for minor politicos in the state.

Old-timers will tell you how when in 1967 the late YB Chavan nominated a 27-year-old Sharad Pawar to contest the Assembly polls from Baramati against stiff opposition from far more established aspirants, he barely could afford a change of clothes. Today, by common consent, he counts among one of the wealthiest politicians in the country. Not only him, the extended Pawar khandan has seen its fortunes grow a million-fold apparently thanks to Sharad Pawar’s stellar rise in Maharashtra politics. So, it is ironical when Pawar Sr talks of corruption charges against Ajit Pawar and others who have turned their backs on him.

Besides, Pawar at 82 may only be concerned about securing a political future for Supriya, whereas Ajit and others who have gone and joined the Shinde-Fadnavis ministry have an entire future to look forward to. It was unfair of him to want them to stay under his tutelage even as he firmed up Supriya’s feet in the political soil of Maharashtra, and farther afield on the national stage.

In other words, if it was a rebellion, it was against a blatant attempt by a doting father to groom and foist his inexperienced daughter as a leader on widely experienced men and women who had spent a lifetime in building NCP, but who were unready to transfer their loyalties and mortgage their future to a socialite daughter who would rather party with the rich and famous and the filmy set than join the suffering farmers in Baramati or Ratnagiri.

Methinks Sharad Pawar being “hoist with his own petard” is just deserts for his blatant show of daughter love.

SOMETIME AGO IN this column, I wrote about the only oddity in the high-value Khan Market,

which commands one of the highest commercial rentals in all of Asia, of a humble barber’s salon staying put despite massive allurements from the moneybags keen to set up shop in this high-visibility marketplace. Sorry to report, at long last, the loud drumbeats of commercialisation have consumed him too. Serving and retired high court and Supreme Court judges, senior government secretaries, well-known TV anchors and editors and a mix of mid-level businessmen had all patronised this competent but modest hair salon. Now, he is gone. But to be fair to him, he was generous enough to give as gratis 11 months’ wages from the huge packet he received for vacating the shop to his four or five employees. The last holdout against market forces has fallen.

Ajit PawarMaharashtrapoliticsPraful PatelSharad PawarSupriya Sule