The sudden passing of Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, following a plane crash, has instantly recalibrated the political equilibrium in one of India's most economically significant states. Maharashtra’s political arena is characterized by fluid alliances, deep-seated regional loyalties, and intense factional rivalries—a landscape Pawar navigated with a reputation for hard-nosed pragmatism and strategic agility.
For decades, Pawar operated under the imposing shadow of his uncle, Sharad Pawar, the founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and a towering figure in national politics. While the elder Pawar embodied traditional, patient coalition-building, Ajit Pawar cultivated a base rooted in regional governance, control over local economic structures, particularly in the cooperative sector around Baramati, and a notably blunt, results-oriented administrative style. This divergence in approach fueled simmering tensions over leadership succession within the NCP structure.
The struggle for autonomy manifested dramatically in 2019 when Ajit Pawar briefly aligned with the rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a move swiftly counteracted by his uncle. Although he returned to the original NCP banner, this event exposed the deep structural fissure within the family and the party. The rift solidified irrevocably in 2023 when Ajit Pawar executed a significant political maneuver, splitting the NCP, claiming the party name and symbol, and rejoining the ruling coalition as Deputy Chief Minister.
This 2023 defection was viewed by critics as the epitome of opportunistic politics in India’s rapidly shifting political economy, where ideological purity often yields to power acquisition. Conversely, his supporters framed it as a necessary adaptation to secure regional influence within the dominant national political narrative. Regardless of interpretation, the Pawar dynastic power structure was permanently bifurcated.
In the immediate aftermath of his death, uncertainty grips those lawmakers who followed Ajit Pawar into the new alliance. The stability of the current Maharashtra government, reliant on complex power-sharing arrangements, is now subject to immediate review as factions assess leadership viability.
Recent political chatter had hinted at a possible détente between the uncle and nephew factions following municipal election results, with some analysts speculating on a future unified NCP leadership under Ajit Pawar. His abrupt absence brings these high-stakes reconciliation scenarios to an immediate and definitive close.
Questions now pivot to the successors: whether Ajit Pawar's political machinery will coalesce under his wife, son, or his cousin, Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, who represents the other faction. The enduring strength of the alliances he forged, both transactional and personal, will be tested in the coming weeks, defining the next chapter of Maharashtra’s governance.
(Source: Based on reporting from the BBC.)