Revolts revisited

Long before Modi hai to mumkin hai became a catchphrase Sharad Pawar was routinely making the impossible possible Unpredictability and a knack to turn any tide in his favour have been the marks of his 50year political careerIn 1978 he engineered Maharashtras first political coup to become the states youngest chief minister aged 38 On his way to the top from then he has mentored countless young politicians Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls him a political guru Now mentor and mentee are at loggerheads over installing a government in Maharashtra In the process the disciple is doing to the teacher what the teacher had done to others in the past ndash breaking families and partiesThe manner in which Ajit Pawar has raised the banner of revolt threatens to rip apart all the safety nets his uncle has so meticulously woven around himself over the years Saturdays events may have even reminded the indomitable veteran of his past What Ajit Pawar has now done to his uncle is very similar to what Pawar Sr had done to many a past competitorBut the NCP boss never tires of reminding people that his past has been a great teacher to him He insists on knowing how to deal with desertions and emerge like a phoenix In fact it is a matter of record that Sharad Pawar has emerged stronger every time he has found himself with his back to the wallIt is clear that Ajit has taken a plunge into troubled waters and this time he will have to prove he has his uncles political tact if he is to survive The easiest way of proving himself is to form and stabilise the twomember government into which he was sworn in on Saturday But can the NCP flock be convinced to desert saheb and go with dada This and other questions will be answered this week Irrespective of how the coming days pan out this is a great time to remember and understand some previous overnight revolts and defections featuring the PawarsThe first hurrahIn July 1978 the then 38yearold Sharad Pawar who was the state industries and labour minister swiftly and secretly toppled Vasantdada Patils Congress U governmentAlmost everyone was blindsided as Pawar resigned and split the Congress U overnight to join with Janata Party which had BJPs former avatar Jan Sangh PWP Bharatiya Lok Dal and independents and be sworn in as the CM of a khichdi government called Progressive Democratic FrontThe young ambitious Marathas manoeuvres compromised his mentor and then Deputy PM Yashwantrao Chavans interests but he ensured continued cordial ties with his political guru who shielded him when in troubleThe PDF was an ideological mess with one constituent wanting others out and vice versa It became increasingly difficult for Pawar to run the show and prevent an exodus of his MLAs to the Congress IThe late Indira Gandhi dismissed the government in 1980 after she recorded a landslide Lok Sabha victory following the Janata Party experiment at the Centre The Janata Party PM Moraraji Desai had made Pawar his pointsperson to garner support for stabilizing his government before he was forced to quit unceremoniouslyDespite this fall from grace Sharad Pawar became a Maharashtrabased troubleshooter who found a place of prominence among the countrys whos who Thereafter he never looked back spending much of his time in the opposition A call from the late Rajiv Gandhi facilitated his reentry into the CongressSplitting Cong againFormer President Pranab Mukherjee writes his book The Coalition Years Three members of the CWC ndashSharad Pawar PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar ndash made a statement that no person of foreign origin should be chosen as party president vicepresident or Indian prime minister Ahead of the 1999 elections there seemed to be an allout rebellion against the possibility that Sonia Gandhi might be the Congresss prime ministerial candidateMukherjee further writes In my opinion Sharad Pawar as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha expected the party to request him instead of Sonia Gandhi to stake claim to form the government After Sonias elevation as president she consulted P Shiv Shankar on all important issues rather than Sharad Pawar This sense of alienation and disenchantment may have been responsible for his statement on Sonias foreign origin and his subsequent exit from the party in 1999The rest is history Pawars new NCP contested Lok Sabha and assembly polls in 1999 reaping rich dividends in Maharashtra where the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena couldnt make the state government because a certain leader of the BJP wanted to be the CMPawar patched up with Sonia and formed a coalition that lasted 15 years before losing to the BJP and Sena in 2014 Five years later Sonia has given Pawar all powers to get the threeparty government in place Ajits revolt and the Congresss suspicion of Sharad Pawar are the only two factors that may yet another rise of the phoenixThe Sena equationIf Sharad Pawars relation with Sonia appears complicated his association with the late Bal Thackeray has been full twists and turns Since its formation the Sena has often been branded a stooge of the Congress backing the national party in exchange of a couple of legislative council seatsPolitical analyst Prakash Akolkar told midday that the late Bal Thackeray had once even announced that the states future was safe in Pawars hands But then Thackeray embraced Hindutva and started using the choicest abuses for Pawar in his public rallies The same Sena is now sharing a political platform with Pawar he saidSharad Pawar didnt spare Thackeray either He got the firebrand Sainik Chhagan Bhujbal into his fold The OBC leader became an integral part of the NCP and became deputy CM in the CongressNCP governmentsIn fact Pawars 1991 machinations might have even inspired his nephew to move secretly to the BJP camp Then Union defence minister Pawar influenced Bhujbal to break away from the Senas 52 MLAs Bhujbal had 18 MLAs a number that was legitimate as per the antidefection law of the timeBut most of MLAs returned fearing the aggressive Senas backlash Amid fears that Sharad Pawars designs may fail the then speaker Madhukar Chaudhari endorsed Bhujbal and company as a separate group so that they could evade the antidefection law The Sena cried foul and termed the decision unconstitutional Ironically today the same parties and leaders who were stakeholders in the illegal act are protesting against the BJPThey say everything is fair in love war and politics Yet one shouldnt stop rewinding history for it never fails to show you where us and them stand in the scheme of thingsDharmendra Jore is political editor midday He tweets dharmendrajore Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates