Mumbai: It is said that there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics. But frenemies turning foes, all within a week, is still surprising even in politics. As Amit Shah and Sharad Pawar launched personal attacks on each other, it shocked many. Especially party workers who were expecting a thawing of relations with murmurs of Pawar senior and nephew Ajit likely to bury the proverbial hatchet and join hands.
In Shirdi, Shah criticised Pawar for playing politics of “treachery and betrayal” since 1978 and rejoicing at the state assembly results marking an end to such politics. Pawar is not known to respond to every criticism but then, Shah is no small politician. Known as the mastermind of his party’s political strategies and the country’s all-powerful home minister, Shah is next only to Narendra Modi in the BJP’s pecking order. Pawar hit back with a counter-attack that raked up Shah’s controversial stint as the home minister of Gujarat. “No other home minister was externed”, he thundered in response.
While attacks on political rivals are routine and rarely taken to heart, this open war of words seems to have put to an end any speculation of an impending reunion between the two NCP factions and a place for Sharad Pawar’s party in the National Democratic Alliance in Delhi.
The sudden turnaround isn’t easy for many party workers to digest. Just when they were worrying about the new turn of events in their political careers, party workers and leaders feel that, for now, there will not be a thaw in the war. A party spokesperson who didn’t want to be named until the party’s decision is made says that this could very well be a ploy to mislead allies as well as opponents until the real deal is sealed. “Presuming that the NCP (SP) will go with Ajit Pawar and partake in the government, our allies started making statements about going solo in the upcoming civic polls,” he says. The party is still keeping its options open, carefully negotiating its demands and weighing the pitfalls of such a decision.
Did Shah spoil the NCP’s plans to prompt such an outburst? Party insiders don’t think so. The battle could only be to mislead those who are awaiting a reunion or possibly to delay one. “When have personal attacks stopped politicians from joining hands for electoral gains? If that would have been the case, the BJP wouldn’t have inducted or allied with most of the politicians they have today including Ajit Pawar and Ashok Chavan in Maharashtra,” says a BJP party worker from Mumbai. With civic polls likely to come up this summer, the reunion may be deferred but isn’t ruled out.
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