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By:

Rajendra Pandharpure

15 April 2025 at 2:25:54 pm

BJP eyes chances in Western Maharashtra after the Pawars

The death of Ajit Pawar has unsettled western Maharashtra, leaving the BJP cautiously biding its time Pune: Western Maharashtra has long been Indian politics in miniature: dense with sugar cooperatives, caste arithmetic, money and muscle power. For decades it was shaped by one extended family – the Pawars - whose writ ran from district banks to dairy unions and from assembly halls to village panchayats. The sudden death of Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) strongman and...

BJP eyes chances in Western Maharashtra after the Pawars

The death of Ajit Pawar has unsettled western Maharashtra, leaving the BJP cautiously biding its time Pune: Western Maharashtra has long been Indian politics in miniature: dense with sugar cooperatives, caste arithmetic, money and muscle power. For decades it was shaped by one extended family – the Pawars - whose writ ran from district banks to dairy unions and from assembly halls to village panchayats. The sudden death of Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) strongman and Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, has jolted this ecosystem. The aftershocks are being felt most keenly not by his rivals, but by his ally, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that has long coveted the region. Maharashtra’s politics has always been regionally segmented. The BJP is entrenched in north Maharashtra; it has broken through spectacularly in Mumbai, including wresting control of the municipal corporation; Vidarbha remains Congress-leaning while Marathwada is competitive and volatile. Family Bastion Western Maharashtra, by contrast, has remained been the Pawars’ citadel. Control over cooperatives, especially sugar, has translated into rural loyalty, financial muscle and electoral dominance. The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar, thrived on this architecture. The BJP, despite its national rise, has struggled to crack it. Rather than dislodge the system, the BJP sought to co-opt it. Disaffected satraps were inducted like Udayanraje Bhosale in Satara; the Mahadiks in Kolhapur; the Mohite-Patils in Solapur. Local strongmen such as Rahul Kul in Pune district were elevated and veterans like Harshvardhan Patil were brought in, if only briefly. The idea was to gradually bleed the undivided NCP led by patriarch Sharad Pawar. That effort has intensified as the BJP eyes an audacious goal: returning to power in Maharashtra on its own in the 2029 Assembly election. For that to happen, western Maharashtra is indispensable. It is no accident that the Modi government had created a new Union ministry of cooperation, handing it to Amit Shah. Cooperatives are the region’s political bloodstream. After the 2024 general election, Muralidhar Mohol, elected from Pune, was made minister of state in the same department. He was also informally tasked with western Maharashtra in a clear signal of the BJP’s strategic focus. Mohol’s brief was daunting: contain both Pawars. Sharad Pawar’s stature as a national deal-maker and Ajit Pawar’s grip on local machinery made them a formidable duo even when divided. Yet, the recent municipal contests in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad hinted at change. When both Pawars campaigned together, the BJP still managed to defeat them, suggesting that the old formula no longer guaranteed victory. Uncertain Times Then came the plane crash on January 28 leading to Ajit Pawar’s tragic death. His wife, Sunetra Pawar, was sworn in as deputy chief minister, an act of continuity intended to steady the ranks. While public sympathy is palpable, it has nothing to do with organisation. Sunetra Pawar will need time to command the networks her husband once ran by instinct. Her early gestures like visiting Karad to pay homage to Yashwantrao Chavan and invoking the legacy of Phule, Shahu and Ambedkar signal an attempt to anchor the party in its progressive tradition. Whether that rhetoric can substitute for Ajit Pawar’s authority is uncertain. Uncertainty abounds elsewhere too. Rumours swirl of a rapprochement or even a merger between the rival NCP factions. One scenario has Supriya Sule entering the Union cabinet. Another asks a more existential question: could Sharad Pawar, architect of Maharashtra’s secular, centrist politics, ever align formally with the BJP’s Hindutva project? His reported unease with a recent India–America trade agreement has fuelled speculation among supporters already anxious about ideological drift. Against this haze, the BJP’s restraint is striking. Rather than rushing to exploit the moment, it has preferred to wait and watch. The party knows that western Maharashtra is not won in a season. Cooperative elections, local bodies and caste coalitions move slowly. For now, the BJP is content to let the Pawars recalibrate, to allow factions to test their strength, and to intervene only when the contours are clearer. In a region where politics has long been about inheritance, Ajit Pawar’s absence has exposed how fragile even the most entrenched systems can be. The BJP senses opportunity, but is also aware of the attendant risks. Its wait-and-watch posture reflects a calculation born of experience. And in western Maharashtra, patience can be a weapon.

Designing for AI Without Chasing It

Over the last three weeks, we’ve tried to take the noise out of the AI conversation.

Week 1: AI isn’t a cure. It’s a diagnostic.

Week 2: AI breaks first where work is unclear.

Week 3: AI only creates leverage when the right conditions exist.


Now comes the real question:

How do you design for AI without turning your business into a lab?

Here’s a simpler way to think about it.


Stop thinking of AI as a tool. Think of it as a new hire.


When you hire a smart person, you don’t throw them into the business and hope they “figure it out”.


You give them:

  • a role

  • boundaries

  • access

  • supervision

  • rhythm


Most SMEs are doing the opposite with AI. They buy a tool, share logins, and feel surprised when:

  • responses sound polished but don’t match reality

  • customers get updates operations can’t fulfil

  • teams quietly bypass the system to protect themselves


That’s not AI failing. That’s poor onboarding. AI doesn’t need motivation. But it still needs a seat in your operating system.

The Mistake

The pattern we’re seeing is predictable. A leader introduces AI for relief. The team uses it for drafts and summaries. Then someone lets it touch real commitments … pricing, timelines, approvals. And stress follows. Not because teams fear AI. Because they fear being blamed for AI’s output.


When process clarity, input ownership, and decision rights are fuzzy, AI feels unsafe. So people hedge. Double-check. Keep the old system alive in parallel. So, the real question isn’t “How do we adopt AI?”


It’s: How do we create a structured place where AI can help without creating chaos?


The sequence

If you remember one line from this series, let it be this:

Capability → Automation → Intelligence.

Not as a lecture. As protection.

You don’t want AI to become a second operating system running on guesses.

Here’s what good sequencing looks like.


Step 1: Build one “AI lane”

Don’t launch AI everywhere. Pick one lane of work where:

  • the process is repeatable

  • errors are visible

  • ownership is clear

For example:

  • enquiry → quote → order confirmation

  • vendor purchase → invoice approval

  • support ticket → resolution

Choose one.

This isn’t about “starting small”. It’s about learning safely.

 

Step 2: Give AI a job description

A simple rule works:

AI can draft. Humans decide.

AI can:

  • draft replies

  • summarise calls

  • create first versions

AI should not:

  • commit delivery dates

  • approve payments

  • override pricing

The moment AI starts “deciding” in a system where decision rights are unclear, confusion follows. When boundaries are explicit, resistance drops. People feel protected.


Step 3: Define only the data that truly matters

Data discipline doesn’t mean cleaning everything. It means defining what must be correct for that one lane. If you’re using AI in order fulfilment, then ensure:

  • one customer master

  • one SKU naming rule

  • one pricing logic

  • one rule for promised dates

That’s it. You don’t need perfect data. You need owned critical data. Without it, AI becomes a confident guesser.


Step 4: Install a review rhythm

This is what separates experimentation from leverage. If you introduce AI and never review its use, two things happen:

  • small mistakes compound

  • trust erodes quietly

Instead, create a simple rhythm:

Once a week, review 5–10 AI-assisted cases.

Where did it help?

Where did it mislead?

What input was missing?

Adjust the process. When this rhythm exists, AI improves with the business instead of drifting away from it.


What to Fix

You don’t need a grand AI roadmap. Set one clear objective: Make one lane of your business legible.

Legible means:

  • the work has a defined shape

  • inputs have an owner

  • decisions have boundaries

  • reviews happen on time

Once work is legible, AI becomes useful naturally. Not because you chased it. Because it finally has something stable to sit on.


A Calm Close

Chasing AI creates short bursts of excitement and long-term fatigue. Designing for AI creates quiet confidence. The difference isn’t technology. It’s sequence. So instead of asking, “Which AI tool should we adopt next?” ask: Where in our business are we ready to multiply clarity? Because AI will multiply whatever you give it. Make sure it’s something worth multiplying.


(The writer is the CEO of PPS Consulting and quite passionate about helping SMEs make the right decisions and not costly ones. She can be reached at rashmi@ppsconsulting.biz)

 

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