Sharad Pawar’s hint at a bigger role for Jayant Patil has led to murmurs of discontent within the MVA
Mumbai: Supriya Sule or Jayant Patil—that’s the question buzzing within the NCP(SP). On Wednesday, Sharad Pawar made a statement that was loaded with a message that has got his allies thinking. At a party rally at Islampur in Sangli district, Pawar heaped praises on Jayant Patil’s leadership qualities and stated that Patil should shoulder the responsibility of steering the state in the right direction.
It was seen as a hint that Patil might be considered for the post of the chief minister of Maharashtra if the MVA wins the elections. So, was Pawar alluding to the possibility of Patil being projected as the chief ministerial face of the MVA?
For long, there have been whispers of Sule being given the state’s top job by her party, making her the first woman chief minister of Maharashtra. There has never been a formal statement on the issue though. Political watchers say that, as usual, the statement is nothing more that a “googly” that the shrewd politician is known to hurl at his allies and opponents alike.
Projecting Patil as the man who would shoulder greater responsibilities was a smart move especially since the statement came at a public meeting in Patil’s home turf, Islampur where the family enjoys clout and influence.
Patil’s father Rajarambapu was a force to reckon with in the region and besides being a cabinet minister, set up several cooperative bodies and educational institutes that have worked towards the socio-economic development of Sangli and Islampur, in particular.
Patil has been an able successor who has led these institutes and cooperative factories and banks. Cooperative bodies are a targeted voter base for political parties, a factor that the Congress and NCP have banked on, for years. A member of the NCP-SP who did not want to be named says: “We are appealing to the members of these cooperative bodies who have been our voters for long but not they’ve also been divided after the split in the party.” Harshvardhan Patil’s re-induction into the party after a stint with the BJP is also believed to be for gaining a hold over members of various cooperative bodies that he holds sway over.
Some say that Pawar’s statement could be only to unnerve the other alliance partners especially the Shiv Sena which has been openly talking about projecting Uddhav Thackeray as the CM face of the MVA.
Despite murmurs that he may cross over to the BJP, Patil has stayed loyal to the NCP-SP even in the face of great turmoil when Ajit Pawar quit, taking along several legislators. When some, in private, assured the NCP supremo that their departure was only to absolve themselves of various cases slapped on them by investigation agencies, Patil stayed with the party even in the face of an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering matter. Pawar’s public appreciation of Patil could be a double-sided sword—in acknowledgment of his loyalty and support and a tug at the heartstrings of the people of Islampur.
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