Act one was the dramatic resignation, from the post of party president, conjuring up widespread sympathy of the party’s, core voter base and proclamation of loyalty from its second-rung leadership. Act two was the rescinding of the resignation, leaving Pawar with greater authority to remould the party. The third act came on one Saturday, where he executed that renewed legitimacy to execute a fundamental shift in direction of the hulking NCP ship.

The long standing issue of dynastic succession has been resolved for now. A month back, nephew Ajit Pawar had seemed to be the natural legatee, firmly in control of the party levers in Maharashtra. The resignation act tarnished junior Pawar’s future claims by implicitly painting him as rebellious, volatile, and possibly part of a shadowy conspiracy within the party.

Today, their heir apparent is daughter Supriya Sule. Previously, she has been a relatively low- key MP, charged with back room manoeuvres in Delhi. Sule is now just the working president, but also the head of the central election authority and party in-charge of Maharashtra. This makes

However, it is not clear whether the precipitating factor for this leadership shift came from nephew Ajit Pawar’s reported attempts to break up the opposition MVA alliances (and possibly the NCP itself). A master strategist Sharad Pawar seized the opportunity to bring about te transition in NCP leadership without the knowledge of Ajit Pawar.

The shift in favour of daughter Sule was inherently risky because similar attempts had felled powerful regional satraps before. In Andhra Pradesh, TDP founder N T Rama Rao had been cast aside by son-in-law Chandra Babu Naidu when he appeared to be delegating political authority to second wife Lakshmi Parvati.

In spite of the formidable power commanded by N T Rama Rao as the sitting CM, not to mention his unmatched personal charisma, the palace coup was supported by most MLAs and party supporters. This was because Naidu assumed the elevated mantle of the largest of the party interest whereas Rao was left with the unseemly wreath of personal devotion. A similarly story could be told of Mulayam Singh Yadav, marginalized by his son and the then UP CM Akhilesh Yadav. The senior Yadav was seen to be backing brother Shivpal Yadav, out of personal loyalty and over the interest of the party.

In Sharad Pawar’s case, the preemptive resignation made him look noble, while showing up, his nephew as a grasping, self-interested leader. Had Sharad Pawar acted without pretext of the ‘impending BJP-led conspiracy’, his manoeuvres might have been similarly characterized as eternal hunger for power or indeed an emotionally rooted attempt to secure the future of his daughter.

Ajit Pawar, if he turns rebellious, may now struggle to attract, a large number of party MLAs. He might also be wary of facing a poplar backlash as well as the disapproval of the rejigged leadership. The appointment of Praful Patel, perceived to be a key controller of the treasury of the party, as the other working president, is also relevant in this context.

The revamping of the party leadership also contains a shift-in-emphasis with regard to the ideological moorings of the party. The resignation theatre allowed Pawar to lay claim to the ‘progressive’ legacy of the party, however, muddled that may have been in practice.

For close to two decades, the traditional Maratha base of the party had been dwindling, an outcome of urbanization and professionalization of dominant peasant community. Outside western Maharashtra, the Marathas now split their vote between the main four parties of the state. (IPA Service)