Quite abruptly, Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar's face is conspicuous by its absence in the campaign material of the BJP-led Mahayuti. Not just in Pune, but even in western Maharashtra, where Ajit Pawar hails from.
The posters and hoardings put up by the Mahayuti only carry PM Modi, CM Eknath Shinde, and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis’s name and face; even the video advertisements released by the ruling political alliance on regional television to publicise the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana do not feature Ajit Pawar's face with the others at the end of the reel.
This is perhaps a reflection of the tension and stress between the BJP and Ajit Pawar in the last few days. The BJP officially declaring on Wednesday that it would not campaign for the NCP candidate Nawab Malik is perhaps the tip of the iceberg.
Over the last few days, Ajit Pawar has been heard saying in various rallies, “I have not given up my commitment to the path of Phule, Shahu, and Dr. BR Ambedkar,” a phrase often used by politicians to describe their commitment to secularism and their left-of-centre position.
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This comes after Ajit Pawar’s team realised that in the recent Lok Sabha polls, his NCP suffered losses in various constituencies because of the misplaced perception that he is now fully allied with the BJP and has joined the path of Hindutva.
Ajit Pawar feels the need to send out a strong signal that he stands with the minority communities in all parts of Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai; three of his candidates, too, come from the minority community and are contesting in Muslim areas.
Nawab Malik from Shivaji Nagar, Mankhurd, Sana Malik from Anushalkti Nagar and Zeeshun Siddique from Bandra East are the three official candidates of Ajit Pawar’s NCP.
In the past, Nawab Malik was also seen campaigning on behalf of the NCP in regions such as Marathwada, which has certain pockets of Muslim population and is contesting in Muslim areas. Nawab Malik from Shivaji Nagar, Mankhurd, Sana Malik from Anushalkti Nagar and Zeeshun Siddique from Bandra East are the three official candidates of Ajit Pawar’s NCP.
In the past, Nawab Malik was also seen campaigning on behalf of the NCP in regions such as Marathwada, which has certain pockets of Muslim population, the serious allegations against Malik and his arrest in a land deal allegedly involving relatives of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
However, during the assembly session of 2024, Malik, who was released on bail on medical grounds, was seen attending the session while sitting on Treasury benches along with other members of Ajit Pawar’'s NCP. Now, Malik being officially nominated by the NCP has angered the BJP.
Ajit Pawar constantly bringing up the point that he wants to stick to his secular and ‘left of centre’ line and the BJP insisting that it wants to pursue hardcore Hindutva has created an obvious rift among these two alliance partners and depending on how the polls go for Ajit Pawar’s party and how many seats he gets, after the elections this rift is only likely to widen further.
