New Delhi:Was Sharad Pawar aware of the plot which was thickening and ultimately shattered the NCP citadel which he built brick by rick? It seems unlikely to believe that he wasn't. Despite his political acumen and calibre, the NCP patriarch was caught unaware while his house fell like nine pins.
If you are to believe in the words of ex-Home Minister of the state and Pawar confidante Anil Deshmukh, the veteran leader did not have an iota of idea about what was cooking inside the party which ultimately metamorphosed into an open revolt against him.
"While Praful Patel, Ajit Pawar, and others have hurt the party, Sharad Pawar was unaware of these developments and was shell-shocked to see the outcome," Deshmukh said.
In a telephonic interview with ETV Bharat, Desmukh reveals what went wrong.
Q1. Ajit Pawar has been claiming that he has control over the NCP while Praful Patel, considered as the closest aid of Sharad Pawar, has also switched sides and the sacking and counter-sacking have happened. How do you see this? Was Sharad Pawar aware of these developments?
Answer:Sharad Pawar was completely unaware of these developments and he got the shock of his life when confronted with unfortunate incidents. Nobody in the NCP knew that something horrible was going to happen. This decision of Ajit Pawar is very painful and has shocked us.
Q2. The revolt happened just one year after Eknath Shinde engineered a coup within the Shiv Sena. Will NCP meet the same fate just like Sena?
Answer:The present dispensation is using pressure tactics to break parties. It is a well-known fact that when the coup happened in Shiv Sena, all defectors (Shinde camp) were paid Rs 50 crore each. Praful Patel and Ajit Pawar are one of the most senior leaders and I think pressure tactics have been used against them.
Q3.Most of the defectors, who have now joined the Fadnavis-Eknath Shinde camp in the Maharashtra assembly have been facing corruption charges and are under the scanner of central agencies. Do you think that this is the main reason behind Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel led the coup within the NCP?
Answer:I don't know about this. Sharad Pawar has already clarified this (referring to Sharad Pawar's statement thanking the Prime Minister for giving 'corrupt' colleagues a clean chit, days after PM Modi accused the NCP of corruption). I don't want to say anything more about this.
Q4. Now, the matter has gone to the Speaker, who is a ruling party member. Do you believe that justice will be done?
Answer:Not just the speaker but also the matter has gone to the Election Commission as well. Now, it's up to the party whip. Jayant Patil, who is the Maharashtra NCP president has appointed Jitender Awhad as the chief whip of the party. So, leaders will have to now follow his guidelines and rulings. Justice Chandrachud in his judgment in the Shiv Sena dispute said the party chief will appoint the chief whip and all the leaders will then have to follow him.