THE PAWAR PARIWAR

The inside story of the Sharad-Ajit feud and what it portends for the family and the NCP

- Dhaval Kulkarni

WHEN AJIT PAWAR FINALLY walked out on uncle and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, most put it down to political expediency. The new deputy chief minister's vaulting ambition was said to have hit a glass ceiling on the opposition benches, and by the rise of cousin and Pawar Sr's daughter Supriya Sule.

However, the war of words between the factions of uncle and nephew has made it evident that the split may be as personal as it is political. When Ajit age-shamed the 82-year-old Pawar, and called for his retirement, Sule, without naming her cousin, warned against crossing that line: "Don't attack my father...we will tolerate anything, but not that." Pawar, too, warned that anyone "taunting him about his age will have to pay a price". Ajit also revealed that his uncle, who is now a key part of the efforts to cobble together a national opposition against the ruling BJP, had 'negotiated' with the same party on multiple occasions since 2014 (indeed, the first public overture was after the assembly polls that year when NCP offered "outside support" to the BJP to form a government).

In yet another indication that it was open season between the two, former Union minister Praful Patel (now in the Ajit camp) reportedly told an English daily that Sule had "become the fulcrum" of Pawar Sr's actions and that he was foisting his decisions on everyone. Patel, who was till yesterday a trusted aide of Pawar Sr, denied the comments later, but the deed was done. Ajit also staked claim to the NCP name and symbol and anointed himself party chief, all of which has been hotly contested by the Sharad Pawar faction.