"I Was Shocked": In Book, Sharad Pawar Recounts Ajit Pawar's Oath With BJP

Senior Maharashtra politician Sharad Pawar has revealed what went down on the day his nephew Ajit Pawar suddenly took oath along with the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis in 2019, when he was trying to stitch up a coalition with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and the Congress. In an updated autobiography released today, Sharad Pawar also talks about what he called the BJP's attempts to "eliminate" the Sena, its former ally.

Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), writes that he was "shocked" when he learned that his nephew was "taking oath" at the Raj Bhavan.

"I was shocked when I got a call on November 23, 2019, around 6.30 am that Ajit and a few NCP MLAs were at Raj Bhavan and Ajit was taking oath with Fadnavis," Mr Pawar says in the second part of his memoir 'Lok Majhe Sangti'.

"When I made calls to a few MLAs who were at Raj Bhavan, I got to know that only 10 MLAs have reached there and one of them told me that it is happening because I support this. But this was a plan for the central BJP to fail the plan of MVA (Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi). I called Uddhav Thackeray immediately and told him that whatever Ajit has done is wrong and NCP and I don't support that. My name was used to take NCP MLAs to Raj Bhavan. I asked him to join me in the press conference at 11 am," Mr Pawar writes.

After the abortive attempt at taking power, Ajit Pawar subsequently returned to the NCP fold, unable to persuade enough MLAs to defect with him.

Mr Pawar's reveal comes at a time when there is raging speculation about Ajit Pawar switching sides again in order to become Chief Minister. Ajit Pawar has denied it, declaring that he will work for the NCP "till I'm alive".

In more startling revelations, Pawar Senior has alleged that the BJP had plotted to eliminate then ally Shiv Sena in the 2019 Maharashtra election as it was convinced that was necessary for its own growth in the state. The BJP put up rebels in several seats against Sena candidates, he claims.

"The BJP was out to eliminate its 30-year-old ally, the Shiv Sena, during the 2019 Assembly election, as the BJP was convinced that it could not gain prominence in Maharashtra unless Shiv Sena's existence was downplayed in the state," Mr Pawar writes.

The BJP and the Sena fought the 2019 election together but a power tussle after their victory ended their alliance of nearly three decades. Uddhav Thackeray, who had refused to play second fiddle to the BJP, teamed up with the ideologically opposite Congress and NCP and became Chief Minister. Mr Thackeray lost power last year following a coup by his aide Eknath Shinde, who split the Sena and partnered with the BJP to form a new government in Maharashtra.

"The simmering anger in the Shiv Sena against the BJP post the 2019 assembly polls, the expose on what led the Shiv Sena to split from the BJP and form the Maha Vikas Aghadi amid rumours of political turmoil, sent ripples in political circles," Mr Pawar writes in his book.

"The BJP rubbed salt on the Sena's wounds by merging Narayan Rane's Swabhiman Party with it. Rane is seen as a traitor by the Shiv Sena," says the former Union Minister.

"The BJP fielded and supported rebel candidates in nearly 50 constituencies against the Shiv Sena. It was an attempt to damage the Sena by decreasing their numbers to have an undisputed claim on power."

The rift between the Sena and the BJP kept widening and "it was a positive signal for us", says the veteran leader.