Ajit Pawar at the centre of crass controversy

MUMBAI: Ajit Pawar built his political persona over the past two decades positioning himself as the exact opposite of his uncle, NCP chief and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.


While Pawar Sr. epitomised tact and flexibility and is well known for his relationships across the political spectrum, the nephew acquired a reputation as one who is unsmiling and brash. It didn’t matter very much as supporters spun it as a mark of his straight forwardness.

But in the last 48 hours, the nephew must sorely wish he was more like his uncle. During the course of a speech at a rally last Sunday, Ajit, the deputy CM of Maharashtra at a time the state is reeling under the worst drought in four decades, said: “There is no water. Then what do we release? Should I urinate in the dam?” “And when we are not getting water to drink, it won’t be easy to pass urine.” Ajit, called dada by his supporters, may have overstepped the line this time.

“We want him to resign. We will not let the house function,” said BJP’s Eknath Khadse, leader of the opposition in the assembly. The opposition continued to shout anti-Ajit slogans in the assembly.

Hemant Desai, an independent political commen-tator, said: “Sharad should have asked him to resign… Ajit clearly has ambitions of becoming the chief minister, but seems to lack the basic finesse and etiquette.” Ajit, 53, was forced to quit last year as deputy CM over the `70,000-crore irrigation scam, but was re-instated after a government white paper cleared him of the charges. His crass comments have helped his opponents bring back the spotlight on the irrigation scam, which took place during his tenure as the water resources minister and over which, many say, he has so far managed to evade scrutiny and questions.

The son of the NCP boss’ elder brother, Ajit entered politics courtesy his uncle. He started off with local politics of the cooperative sector in 1982 and made his electoral debut in the state assembly in 1991. Since then he always contested elections from Baramati, a stronghold of the Pawar family. Over time he emerged from his uncle’s shadows to become NCP’s grass-roots face who can manage polls through the clout he holds in rural credit societies, rural banks and cooperatives. He carved out his own identity and is said to enjoy the support of the party’s legislators.

On this occasion, Sharad was quick to realise the possible damage from his nephew’s comments and issued an apology to the ‘people of Maharashtra’. The nephew too tendered an apology, calling his statements “the biggest mistake” of his life. Many feel “mistake” may be an understatement. This one could well be a monumental blunder.