Did that mean NCP (Ajit Pawar) could announce the candidature of Nawab Malik and the BJP, which had gone to town with allegations that Nawab Malik was a Dawood Ibrahim plant was kosher for the party with a difference and 'Batenge toh katenge' did not apply to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar?

Does Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, all three of them urging Hindu voters to stay united against Muslim unity, approve of Nawab Malik's presence in the Mahayuti, which is fighting the assembly elections under the banner of Yogi Adityanath's 'Batenge toh katenge', which is as anti-Muslim as any political outfit can become?

The BJP's "scathing criticism" of the Ajit Pawar NCP doesn't carry water and the BJP cannot escape the charge that it is carrying water for those against whom Yogi Adityanath wants the majority community to unite. Nawab Malik’s candidature is a blot on 'Batenge toh katenge' and cannot be forgiven even if Ajit Pawar is a tall leader of the Mahayuti. The ticket to Nawab Malik is telling the BJP to hell with 'Batenge toh katenge'.

Even otherwise, the BJP's political morality has always been suspect. The party doesn’t hesitate to compromise its vaunted values for a few seats more. Why, Ajit Pawar himself is an example of the BJP's duplicitous nature. Who doesn't remember Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ringing words charging Ajit Pawar with massive corruption, and then follow it up with a grand welcome to the BJP-led alliance?

What does the last minute candidature of Nawab Malik under the Mahayuti umbrella say about the Mahayuti in general and the BJP in particular? Nawab Malik comes with a taint courtesy the BJP and if he wins, and the Mahayuti also wins, won't he stake claim for a ministership in the Mahayuti government? The simple fact is, Nawab Malik is the Mahayuti candidate from the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat and he is an accused in a money laundering case involving Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Shakeel and Tiger Memon thanks to the Modi government.

The case against Nawab was lodged by the Enforcement Directorate, no less. Will the BJP have a corruption case accused in the Mahayuti government if the alliance wins the assembly elections and forms the government? There is already the example of the BJP-led second NDA government giving a clean chit to Ajit Pawar after calling him a robber baron of the highest calibre.

Come to think of it, Nawab Malik played it smart. He filed two nominations. One as a member of the NCP. The other as an 'Independent.' Then came the Ajit Pawar backing and he is now the official Mahayuti candidate, courtesy the BJP's duplicitousness.

BJP's Maharashtra unit chief Ashish Shelar said, after a furore over Nawab Malik's backdoor entry into the Mahayuti, "The BJP's stance is very clear. All the parties in the alliance should decide their own candidate." That is saying the BJP is okay with Nawab Malik even if Nawab Malik has ties with Dawood, Chota Shakeel and Tiger Memon, what's the big deal, par for the course!

"The issue is only about Nawab Malik's official 'candidature'. (Deputy Chief Minister) Devendra Fadnavis has time and again clarified the stance of the party, I say it again: The BJP will not campaign for Nawab Malik. There is no question of us campaigning for him, because we won't endorse anyone who's related to any Dawood or Dawood related case," Shelar said, taking the fig-leaf escape. Does Nawab Malik even want the BJP to campaign for him? In fact, if the BJP campaigns for Nawab, he would risk losing all the Muslim votes coming his way!

Ashish Shelar is a gem of a spokesperson, too, for the Mahayuti in addition to being the BJP's Maharashtra unit Chief. In this instance he did a Houdini favour for the BJP, giving the party a getaway route. Is the benefit of doubt to Nawab Malik's daughter Sana Malik, who is the NCP candidate from the Anushakti Nagar seat, Nawab Malik's seat in the outgoing assembly, another of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s favours done to Nawab Malik?

This when the saffron party’s 'Batenge toh katenge' campaign-cry is against all fellows Muslim. "As long as we don't get any proof and information about her, all Mahayuti candidates are BJP's candidates," Shelar spoke about Sana Malik. There is talk that the BJP had put pressure on Ajit Pawar to avoid giving a ticket to Nawab Malik, but Ajit Pawar was under stress and in an immediate hurry to declare himself as his own man!

Ajit Pawar's NCP was given only four seats in the Lok Sabha elections. And now in the assembly elections, NCP (Ajit Pawar) has got the smallest number of Mahayuti seats even though he brought the same number of MLAs into the Mahayuti as Chief Minister Eknath Shinde did. Ajit Pawar was under pressure from his own party to "assert himself", before it was too late. There is also the “uncle Sharad Pawar” factor, who has flayed the nephew's betrayal of the family.

There is talk that Ajit Pawar wanted an effective leader on his side, somebody of the stature of Nawab Malik who is one of the few top leaders in Ajit Pawar NCP, besides being a prominent face of the Muslim community. Even the BJP wouldn't mind a Muslim leader throwing his weight behind the Mahayuti. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wouldn't mind it at all. It is one of Modi's fond dreams to see Muslims vote for the BJP even if indirectly. Modi wouldn't have ever championed 'Batenge toh katenge' but for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stealing the thunder from him!

The NCP has always been a Muslim-friendly political party and Sharad Pawar too was once linked to Dawood Ibrahim. Ajit Pawar dealt a body blow to the Pawar-Muslim bhaichara when he chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Sharad Pawar. Hopefully, Nawab Malik would help correct the impression.

Crucially, NCP (Ajit Pawar) made its support to Nawab Malik public only after the expiry of the nomination deadline. This helped the BJP "accept" Nawab Malik's candidature with the excuse that the deed was already done and dusted with and nothing more could be done. The BJP can never refuse a seat or two coming its way, the world's largest political party. (IPA Service)