Sharad Pawar is among the smartest politicians in the country and the biggest proof of this is his political relevance at the age of 80. He was among the most powerful members of the Congress and a contestant for the Prime Ministerial chair in 1991. And, since he floated a new party, it has been out of power in Maharashtra only for five years during Fadnavis times.
In 2019, he implemented the break-up of BJP and Shiv Sena to ensure that either he forms the government with BJP or with other two parties. And, ultimately, he succeeded in installing Uddhav Thackeray as titular chief minister.
In the last one year, he is slowly eroding the vote bank of Congress and Shiv Sena to make NCP the primary opposition of BJP. He has already succeeded in making Congress from a senior partner to junior partner in the Maharashtra legislative assembly as well as the government, and the next target for him, it seems, is Shiv Sena.
Mumbai, the fortress of Shiv Sena, has been long eyed by all the political parties of Maharashtra. However, Shiv Sena has been able to maintain its hegemony in the city till 2012 due to Balasaheb Thackeray and later due to BJP-SS alliance in which the increasing popularity of the saffron party and Prime Minister Modi helped the party to win the 2017 BMC election.
But, in the next BMC election which is expected to be held in February 2022 and NCP wants to snatch it from the Shiv Sena. As of now, NCP is in fourth place in the BMC with only 13 seats out of 227.
Sharad Pawar is already using Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece, Saamana, as its PR machine. The Sena has used its mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, to convey its desire of having Sharad Pawar as the chairman of UPA. This, coming from a journal which once held respect for its conveyance of unbiased news under its founder-editor Bal Thackeray, is quite a downfall.
At a time when the rumour mills are abuzz with the news of Sonia Gandhi’s retirement next year, NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar has been named as Shiv Sena’s choice for the chairperson. Shiv Sena has used ‘Saamana’ to not just advocate Pawar’s name, but also raising questions on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership abilities.
Mocking the Gandhi family, the editorial read, “Priyanka Gandhi was detained from the streets of Delhi, Rahul Gandhi is being mocked across the country and Maharashtra govt is being stopped to perform its duties. this is not democracy.”
The editorial further made a direct attack on the grand old party and said that the “Congress-led UPA seems like an NGO right now and the parties under that do not seem to take the farmers’ protest seriously except NCP.”
Moreover, Sanjay Raut, the editor-in-chief of Saamana, is acting like an NCP spokesperson for the last few months. Underling NCP sycophancy, Raut had interviewed with Sharad Pawar in July this year, to be broadcasted on Saamna’s website. Interviewing with a leader from an alliance party might seem strange, but considering Sena’s agenda to popularise Pawar, this move seems apt.
Moreover, according to sources say in January, Raut had even pitched Pawar’s name as a presidential candidate and said that he should be considered by all political parties for the 2022 presidential election.
Sharad Pawar has clinched the Shiv Sena and its loudmouth Sanjay Raut, who seems to be an NCP mole in the party founded by Balasaheb Thackeray. In the next BMC election, Sharad Pawar will probably usurp the prestigious BMC from Shiv Sena or become the primary opposition.