I.N.D.I.A faces Sharad Pawar dilemma

The two-day meeting of the grand opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) concluded at Mumbai with a pledge to oust the BJP-led NDA government at the centre in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

While the leaders of as many as 28 political parties from different parts of the country deliberated on the strategy to be adopted to counter the BJP in the 2024 general elections, the Sharad Pawar question appeared to be looming large on the deliberations.

Sharad Pawar, whose Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) suffered a split a few months back when his nephew Ajit Pawar joined the Maharashtra government led by the Eknath Shinde group of Shiv Sena and the BJP, appears to be sending mixed signals to the BJP and the I.N.D.I.A alliance both by being ambivalent on his stand vis-a-vis Ajit.

There were speculations that Sharad Pawar had been offered a cabinet berth in the union government by the BJP and also that Ajit Pawar had been trying to rope him in. These speculations gained further credence in view of the reports of a series of meetings between the uncle and the nephew in the past two months.

These meetings between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar have made the opposition alliance uneasy and also apprehensive as it feels that Sharad Pawar can’t be trusted. Sources said that the BJP was trying frantically to have Sharad Pawar in its camps as it would strengthen its alliance in Maharashtra, which sent 48 members to the Lok Sabha.

Sources also said that Sharad Pawar was likely to float a new outfit after the NCP split. ‘’Only time will tell whether Sharad Pawar goes to the BJP camp or not…….his political acumen can’t be doubted…he has proved in the past that he still has the capability to draw public support,’’ said a senior NCP leader.