Is Ajit Pawar going to be Maharashtra’s next CM?

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has rebuffed speculations of Ajit Pawar replacing Eknath Shinde as the chief minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s clarification came after senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Monday (24 July) reiterated his claim of junior Pawar taking over Shinde’s post, which he said would happen around the second week of August.

Rumours of a possible change at the helm have been rife ever since Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar broke away from his uncle and party supremo Sharad Pawar to join the Maharashtra government in early July.

What did Prithviraj Chavan say and how has Devendra Fadnavis responded? Why have speculations of a change of guard continued? Let’s take a closer look.

‘Ajit Pawar will be next chief minister’

Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan claimed that the BJP top brass had decided to make Ajit Pawar the next chief minister as it could not fight the 2024 Lok Sabha election with current chief minister Shinde.

“The extremely crucial 2024 Lok Sabha contest will decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain in power or not. It is my opinion as a political analyst and on the basis of information whose source I cannot reveal, that the BJP high command thinks the party will not be able to face the election with Eknath Shinde. Hence, a decision has been taken to hand over the reins of the state to Ajit Pawar, who is already part of the government,” Chavan said, as per The Hindu.

Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister on 2 July, while eight other rebel NCP MLAs were sworn in as ministers. The junior Pawar currently holds the finance and planning portfolio.

Chavan further claimed that the saffron party believes it is better to go into the next elections with Pawar at the helm in Maharashtra. He said that “use and throw” was Prime Minister Modi’s style.

“This is the fate of Shinde. The understanding of top BJP leadership indicates they want to make Ajit Pawar the chief minister and face elections,” he said, as per Hindustan Times (HT).

“It is my thinking that Shinde and his MLAs will be disqualified by the Speaker [Rahul Narwekar] before 10 August or even sooner as per the Supreme Court’s judgment on the disqualification petition of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs,” The Hindu quoted the Congress leader as saying.

‘Eknath Shinde will remain CM’

Snubbing Chavan’s claims as “absolutely baseless”, BJP leader Fadnavis accused him of spreading canards.

“Eknath Shinde will remain the chief minister and this is clear to all the three leaders of Mahayuti (grand alliance),” the deputy chief minister told reporters on the Vidhan Bhawan premises on Monday.

“As a leader of the single largest party in Mahayuti, I am officially telling you that Ajit Pawar will not become the chief minister of Maharashtra,” news agency PTI quoted Fadnavis as saying.

VIDEO | “It is pretty much clear among the BJP, NCP (Ajit Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Shinde) that Eknath Shinde is the CM of ‘Mahayuti’ and he will remain the CM. There will not be any change,” says Maharashtra Deputy CM @Dev_Fadnavis. pic.twitter.com/iImEDJRUvs

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 24, 2023

The BJP leader stated that ahead of Pawar’s induction on 2 July, it was communicated to him that he would not get the top post. Fadnavis said a power-sharing formula was discussed with Pawar, which he had accepted.

“There is no ambiguity among the leaders. When the alliance was formed, Ajit Pawar was appraised about all the aspects. And he accepted them. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has also made it clear that there was no reason for any change of chief minister,” he added, as per Indian Express.

Urging people to end speculations on the matter, Fadnavis, as per PTI, said: “They should stop confusing people about Mahayuti. Leaders are not confused but party workers do get perplexed. People like Prithviraj Chavan are spreading rumours. If something is going to happen by 10 August, it would be the expansion of the state Cabinet. The chief minister will take a call on it”.

Why have rumours refused to die down?

Since the NCP split, Congress’ Chavan and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut have frequently claimed that Ajit Pawar was inducted by the BJP in the government to replace Shinde as the chief minister.

On 6 July, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction had dismissed the rumours, saying they were planted by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA coalition) out of despair.

“This negativity is deliberately being created…The Shinde camp MLAs are not upset on Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction joining the ruling BJP-Shinde Sena government,” Maharashtra industries minister and Shinde camp’s Uday Samant had said in Mumbai, as per The Hindu.

Shinde himself has said that Ajit Pawar’s entry into the government did not pose a threat to his post. Earlier in July, he had called the speculations of his resignation “baseless”, saying that the “higher ups” will take an appropriate decision, reported PTI.

However, Shinde’s two visits to Delhi in less than a week have further fuelled the speculations, noted The Hindu.

Conjectures also rose when NCP workers put up huge banners on Ajit Pawar’s birthday on 22 July, claiming he will be the next chief minister. As per Indian Express, these posters were showcased on the route between Devgiri – Ajit Pawar’s official residence – to Varsha at Malabar Hills, Shinde’s official residence.

NCP MLC Amol Mitkari, a close aide of junior Pawar, recent tweet that “the Ajit era had begun” also intensified the rumours, according to The Hindu.

Meanwhile, an NCP source told The New Indian Express, a new formula is in the works between Sharad Pawar‘s camp and his nephew’s faction to keep the party intact. To get the senior Pawar on board, the BJP has to make Ajit Pawar the chief minister, Supriya Sule has to be accommodated at the Centre, while Jayant Patil – Maharashtra president of Sharad Pawar-led NCP – has to be given a berth in the state Cabinet.

With inputs from agencies