Last Updated:
The Grand Old Party is banking on Sharad Pawar to execute his nephew’s ‘Ghar Wapsi’ and keep the large number of Independents and rebels on the side of the MVA
Sharad Pawar is an old-style politician and is known to share a good equation with leaders cutting across party lines despite his wily political manoeuvring. (PTI)
It’s time for basics as the election campaign in Maharashtra comes to an end. The challenge will be to get the core voters of all stakeholders to the booth and ensure that they vote for the party that meets their criteria. While that remains an external factor, internally, the Congress — which is confident of winning close to 90 seats in the assembly elections — is banking on the Sharad Pawar trump card.
The veteran politician has often bailed out the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena alliance, using his seniority and experience to help the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) stay afloat. Despite minor controversies and major splits in the constituents, the Congress is banking on Pawar’s power.
During the Lok Sabha elections, when it seemed that the Mahayuti alliance or BJP specifically would hold sway, it was largely Sharad Pawar who, with his political strategy and acumen, made a huge dent in the ruling alliance’s votes. Now, the Congress is hoping that Pawar can repeat his magic.
In fact, as reported earlier by News18, it is Pawar who has been dictating much of the strategy to be adopted by the Congress and MVA. For example, when the ‘Batenge Toh Katenge’ slogan was put out by the BJP, the first reaction came from Pawar who said the phrase does not behove politicians and for the prime minister to make these kinds of comments was cue enough for the rest of the allies to take on the BJP. In fact, on the last day of campaigning, it was the PM’s ‘Ek Hain Toh Safe Hain’ slogan which became the fulcrum of the interaction at Rahul Gandhi’s press conference.
There is an apprehension that Maharashtra may see a hung assembly once results are out on November 23. In case the MVA has the largest share, but still not enough to form the government, the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray will depend on Pawar to swing their fortunes.
Pawar is an old-style politician and is known to share a good equation with leaders cutting across party lines despite his wily political manoeuvring. When the BJP tried to do a hush-hush swearing-in of the government in Maharashtra with Devendra Fadnavis and Pawar Sr’s nephew Ajit, it was the veteran NCP leader who intervened and ensured that MVA forms the government.
This time around, the Congress is banking on Sharad Pawar to execute his nephew’s ‘Ghar Wapsi’ and keep the large number of Independents and rebels on the side of the MVA. In case the Grand Old Party becomes the kingmaker, the Congress is hoping that Pawar’s power can work and help MVA gain.
