Can The Pawars Survive The House Of Cards?

바카라�Arre deva (oh god)! There are two Nationalist Congress Parties (NCP) now, aren바카라�t there!바카라� 80-year-old Muktabai Sable exclaims, as the Lok Sabha candidate of NCP바카라�s Sharad Pawar faction, Supriya Sule, marches by her house in Baramati바카라�s Aamrai neighbourhood. Sable lives a stone바카라�s throw away from the home of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, who is also the candidate바카라�s father and regarded as the grand patriarch of Maharashtra politics.

While Sule bows and smiles as she walks by, Sable and other voters like her in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency appear to be befuddled by the recent political saga that has split the NCP and the powerful Pawar clan.

Dressed in a yellow cotton saree, Sule braves the peak noon sun to make a last-minute appeal to the voters, ahead of the May 7 polls. 바카라�Ram Krishna Hari, Vazwa Tutari (Blow the Trumpet),바카라� she says, letting voters know about her party바카라�s new symbol; a man blowing turha, a traditional trumpet. She also reminds them that she and her party, NCP (SP), are listed third on the EVM roster.

Days earlier, Sunetra Pawar, Sule바카라�s sister-in-law and candidate for the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, visited the same neighbourhood to woo voters. "Only vote for ghadyal (clock), no other symbol,바카라� she urged, informing people that her name was on the second button of the EVM, just above Sule바카라�s.

바카라�Both are our daughters. Saheb is ours, so is dada. How can we give a vote to one and turn against the other,바카라� Sable explains her dilemma, which has gripped her and the rest of Baramati ahead of polling day. The district, which serves as a gateway to Western Maharashtra바카라�s agriculture belt, is situated on the fertile Deccan plateau. It straddles both geographic halves, one cursed with rain-shadow and the other blessed with rich black soil.

In 2024, however, voters, like the politically influential Satav family, are finding it difficult to come to grips with the division that the Pawar clan and the NCP have been split into.

Once united in allegiance to the united Pawar clan, father and son, Sadashiv and Sachin, now find themselves on opposing sides. Sadashiv is the head of Sharad Pawar바카라�s campaign while Sachin is campaigning for Ajit Pawar. Despite their differences, Sachin says: 바카라�Our political ideologies can differ, but we can still coexist under the same roof.바카라�

The Baramati district has been the political fiefdom of the Pawar family for more than fifty years and the unquestioned turf of the NCP, since the party바카라�s inception in the late 1990s. Here, the personal is political and the political is personal. And of course, there is the third P that invariably influences most aspects of life in these parts: the Pawars.

The Pawars could well star in a Maharashtra version of the House of Cards featuring senior Pawar, affectionately known as saheb, alongside nephew Ajit, daughter Supriya and nephew바카라�s wife Sunetra, all once united under one family and party. Sunetra, from the royal Patil family of Osmanabad, has seen her brother Padamsinh, a former minister and MP, switch sides to support Ajit and the BJP.

Throughout their political journey, the Pawars have had a firm grip on power, especially since 2000, when the NCP first gained power in Maharashtra in alliance with the Congress.

Not anymore. In a loyalty test, Sule and Sunetra are now rivals in their first electoral face-off, with Sunetra aiming to defeat her sister-in-law. 바카라�Not even in my dreams, did I imagine fighting an election. Until now, I used to campaign for tai, but this time I have to ask for votes for myself,바카라� Sunetra Pawar said during her campaign in Baramati.

The intense family feud adds spice to the political drama, elevating the stakes in the Lok Sabha election, with Sharad Pawar, 83, hitting the campaign trail alongside grandson Rohit Pawar for his daughter Supriya in the blazing heat.

Baramati, with an electorate of over 20 lakh voters, is the most significant among the ten seats contested by the NCP바카라�s Sharad Pawar faction in Maharashtra. Their ally Shiv Sena (UBT) competes for 21 seats, while the Congress vies for 17, uniting to challenge the BJP-Shiv Sena and NCP-Ajit Pawar alliance. For the BJP and Ajit Pawar바카라�s NCP, winning Baramati is crucial, considering its potential to deliver a debilitating blow to Sharad Pawar바카라�s clout in regional politics. Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman personally visited the district in 2022 as part of the BJP바카라�s 바카라�Mission 45바카라� to win 45 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra.

According to the NCP workers, after the BJP-Shinde government assumed power, proposals for projects and schemes they had initiated were held back and there were long delays in fund disbursal. 바카라�Being in opposition was proving very difficult. As a guardian minister, dada was getting fewer funds. Our plans for development and promises made to people were paused. Ajit dada realised that if he wants to get the work done, he must be in power,바카라� says Dhanvan Vardak, 70, executive chairman of the NCP.

Ajit Pawar바카라�s NCP emphasises 바카라�development by being in power바카라� in the Lok Sabha polls, while Sunetra바카라�s campaigners highlight her husband바카라�s role as deputy chief minister, pledging to tackle longstanding issues. Sunetra urges voters to prioritise development and secure future funds from Delhi.

바카라�Everyone knows dada is Maharashtra바카라�s hardest-working political leader. He wakes up daily at 6 am and evaluates work with IAS officials, attending to people바카라�s complaints apart from his routine work, right up to midnight,바카라� says Navid Pathan. 바카라�Now, because he is in power, he has full liberty to get the work done,바카라� a former journalist-turned-NCP worker said.

Sameer Mulani, an NCP worker who is close to Sunetra Pawar, credits Ajit Pawar for Baramati바카라�s development. Baramati is famed for milk and sugar cooperatives, sugarcane, grapes and the production of mangos. 바카라�He brought MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) here and created job opportunities. Irrigation and canal development have made out-of-season agriculture possible. He has a vision and pays personal attention to people,바카라� he says.

Party members said the cracks in the NCP and between the uncle and nephew were not engineered by the BJP, but have emerged through a decade. Sachin Satav remembered the shock among party workers when Sharad Pawar announced his support to the BJP on the day of the vote count, after campaigning against the party in the 2014 elections.

In an unexpected bender in 2019, Ajit Pawar, apparently, at the behest of Sharad Pawar attended an early morning oath ceremony as Maharashtra바카라�s deputy chief minister alongside Devendra Fadnavis as the CM. The Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government survived for less than 80 hours. Sharad Pawar then stitched an unexpected alliance with the Congress and Shiv Sena바카라�s Uddhav Thackeray to form the ruling government of Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA). 바카라�It was the most embarrassing and humiliating for dada. The whole of Maharashtra was abusing him and he could not even reveal the reason when it was all done at the behest of Sharad Pawar,바카라� Satav alleged.

In May 2023, Sharad Pawar briefly resigned as party president but was urged by party workers to withdraw it. Speculation arose that he intended to pass leadership to his daughter, Supriya, which Ajit Pawar opposed, citing his own 30 years of dedication to Baramati.

According to Milind Kathe, Kathewadi바카라�s deputy sarpanch, Ajit conveyed to the senior Pawar that he must lead the party and that workers were ready to follow his directives. Kathewadi is the Pawar family바카라�s ancestral village. 바카라�Dada has given his all to grow and make the party바카라�s footprint bigger. He has nurtured the party and constituency. If out of 54 MLAs, 42 have gone with him, it means they must have seen something right in going with Ajit Pawar.바카라� Kathe said party workers on the ground believed it was unfair for dada to take orders from Supriya tai. 바카라�She neither goes on the ground, nor does she know our names and faces, the way dada does.바카라�

The younger generation appears to be supportive of Ajit Pawar바카라�s bid to step out of his uncle바카라�s shadow and carve his own path, endorsing his ambition to become Maharashtra바카라�s chief minister. 바카라�For how long should he wait to lead the party? He has crossed his 60s. This was the right time for him to grab the opportunity. There is nothing wrong if he decides to break away,바카라� says Milind바카라�s brother, Nitin Kathe.

Ajit바카라�s latest rebellion and his alliance with the BJP are viewed by some in Baramati as an attempt to usurp his uncle바카라�s political legacy in the latter바카라�s sunset years.

바카라�The BJP plans to finish the opposition in Maharashtra by targeting Sharad Pawar that is why they broke the party. It has lured Ajit Pawar by giving him the post of deputy CM, as a means to achieve that. How can he not understand it?바카라� asks Narayan Walhekar, 38, an NCP supporter, who decided to get on the ground and campaign by Sule바카라�s side because 바카라�saheb and tai have been left alone to fend for themselves.바카라�

Kathewadi too faces a conflict. Historically supportive of the NCP, it바카라�s now torn between BJP-backed Sunetra Pawar and Sharad Pawar바카라�s daughter Supriya Sule, weighing Ajit바카라�s work against sympathy for the patriarch Pawar.

Seated at the village hall, surrounded by houses named 바카라�Dadachi Krupa바카라� (Dada바카라�s blessings) and 바카라�Matoshree바카라� after Shiv Sena chief Thackeray바카라�s Mumbai residence, elders express fury over the split. 바카라�The Brahmins (Fadnavis led BJP) have broken our party,바카라� they lament. 바카라�What he did was not correct. He should never have brought such a time upon us,바카라� others collectively murmur. 바카라�Saheb is the bhishmapitamah of Maharashtra. Till he is alive, the BJP cannot defeat the opposition,바카라� says Balkrushna Kathe, 75, passionately. He highlighted senior Pawar바카라�s contributions as an Agriculture Minister and Member of Parliament, while also emphasising dada바카라�s role in developing Baramati. 바카라�Saheb developed the country but dada has developed our villages. We also can바카라�t forget that he is there because of saheb,바카라� Kathe muses.

Villagers claim to owe their current prosperity to the development steered by Ajit and Sunetra Pawar. In 2006, Kathewadi was awarded nirmal gram status for eradicating open defecation. 바카라�Villagers would sit in the open to defecate every morning. Dada and vahini have cleaned it. Today, it is an eco-friendly village, beautifully lined with trees, which Dada himself selected and we all take great care to keep it clean,바카라� says Prithviraj Kathe, 22, a young villager.

Villagers remember Sunetra hoicking her saree and picking up a broom herself during a clean-up drive. Unlike other Pawar family members, villagers said Ajit and Sunetra have maintained a strong connection with them. 바카라�They changed the mindset of the villagers and organised them socially. Today, Kathewadi is a model village,바카라� says Sujata Shivaji Pawar, a relative. Sujata is confident Kathewadi will vote unanimously for Sunetra out of 바카라�love and respect바카라�.

The BJP바카라�s support strengthens Ajit바카라�s faction, notably in Khadakwasla and Daund, while the Sharad Pawar faction dominates the other four talukas. Rahul Kul, the BJP MLA, cites a decade of growth, estimating around five lakh votes, inspired by his wife, Kanchan바카라�s, 2019 Lok Sabha run. 바카라�The BJP has always fought against the Pawars. Our ideologies are different. But we have decided to leave our local conflicts aside and support Sunetra Pawar.바카라�

Many local leaders have now shifted allegiance to Ajit Pawar ahead of polls, notes political observer Shashank Mohite. Traditionally, Baramatikars supported Sharad Pawar and Sule in the Lok Sabha but reserved votes for Ajit Pawar in the assembly polls. This time, Sule바카라�s Delhi political experience contrasts with Ajit바카라�s local backing, yet many remain loyal to Sharad Pawar바카라�s anti-BJP stance.

In water-starved clusters across 22 villages in Baramati, Daund and Purandar talukas, the Pawars바카라� ideology and feud hold little relevance. Despite representing the district for 55 years, the powerful clan failed to address chronic water shortages. Jalgaon Supe village, roughly 16 km from Baramati town, has to buy water every summer from the neighbouring village of Deulgaon. 바카라�Ours is the only village that has been left parched for decades. We do not benefit from the state바카라�s irrigation scheme. Our water problem can be resolved by building a water pathway for 1.5 km and connecting it to a nearby canal, but unfortunately, the Pawars have ignored our pleas,바카라� says Sameer Khomane, the deputy sarpanch and an NCP worker. He is hopeful that Ajit Pawar, now in charge, will address the problem. 바카라�We hope dada will be able to do, what saheb could not.바카라�

Shweta Desai in Baramati

(This appeared in the print as 'House of Cards')