Pawar divides his turf: State for nephew, Centre for daughter

The world – or at least Maharashtra – needn’t worry about a political turf war in Maharashtra’s First Political Family — the Pawars. The patriarch, Sharadrao Govindrao Pawar, has indicated, according to his lights, how his daughter, Supriya Sule, and nephew, Ajit Pawar, will share his political heritage. The rookie daughter and first-time member of the Lok Sabha from Baramati will play on the national scene. The nephew, a veteran of many an electoral battle, who was helped both by his pedigree and his own political skills, will focus on Maharashtra. The Maratha strongman said he ‘expected’ this to happen. But since he said this in public, it means he thinks this is how it should happen. It was being spelt out for them. Ajit Pawar is already Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. By implication, it could mean that when opportunities open up in the central cabinet, Sule could be a contender. [caption id=“attachment_183198” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Sharad Pawar. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters”]  [/caption] In a two-part freewheeling interview to Star Mhaza, Sharad Pawar, who is also Union Agriculture Minister, put in some caveats. Ajit Pawar, he said, had several good qualities. All the organisations he runs, he pointed out, are full of greenery, and are squeaky clean. By squeaky clean, the senior Pawar meant his nephew ensured physical cleanliness — not a speck of dust. Moreover, Ajit Pawar is also a good administrator who holds the reins well. Obviously, Ajit Pawar is not going to be content with merely being the deputy chief minister. The idea behind anyone being part of dynasty is that he or she should take charge. Ajit Pawar should thus be aiming to be CM of Maharashtra one day. But conditions applied if he had to graduate to higher things. For one, he should read a lot. Pawar’s assessment often included this criterion – does the person read enough? He pointed out how Satish Shahani, Chief Executive Officer of the Nehru Centre of which Pawar is chairman for life, “reads a lot” despite being a policeman all his life. Sharad Kale, CEO of Chavan Centre, was a topper from school days and “reads a lot”. Second, Ajit Pawar should know how to speak in public. He ought to, he said, have greater control on his tongue. It was all right for Bal Thackeray to say anything he liked and people might not take note as this was coming from the opposition, but people expected more and better from the rulers. This is contrary to the assessment he had of his nephew in 1993. On a three-day ‘let us understand each other’ trip when he was Defence Minister, Sharad Pawar had told this writer that though “Ajit was born in a Maratha family, his language is that of a cultured Brahmin.” Obviously, despite being a nephew, the uncle had been unsparing in the evaluation of the younger man. Third, Ajit Pawar should know how to cultivate people, and learn to knit them together, an important quality in politics. He should imbibe the spirit of understanding stuff which is not part of his ken by constant ‘dialogue’ – another Pawar Sr requirement – with those who are knowledgeable. Pawar recalled how he spent hours of ‘dialogue’ with Homi Sethna and with MS Swaminathan. In the bargain, he learnt a lot. Four, Ajit Pawar should also understand that he needed to cultivate people. In short, the uncle had hopes of the younger Pawar doing well eventually but he needed to change a lot. That he said these things in public, on prime time television, is an indication that the message was sharp: you have a future, but you need to change. And Ajit’s cousin, Surpiya would not encroach on his turf — Maharashtra. In contrast to what he had to say about his protégé-nephew, the daughter came out smelling of roses. She was, Sharad Pawar said, more interested in the national arena. Her interests lay in universalisation of education, on preventing foetal abortions, generating respect for the girl-child, et al. She speaks on these in the Lok Sabha on behalf of the Nationalist Congress Party and has secured the respect of people from across the political spectrum. In short, she was on her way to doing well there, and she already was clued in. In two years as an MP, she seems to have learnt her ropes well; he had no advise for her, compared to the long list of deficiencies that required correctives from Ajit Pawar. One thing the senior Pawar did not spell out when comparing the two is that Supriya Sule knows Hindi, talks well in English and is eloquent in Marathi, her mother tongue. Ajit Pawar is at home only in Marathi, which is a handicap when operating in Delhi. Sharad Pawar himself had battled with the issue, not with sufficient success though, when he was seeking a larger role in Delhi. Now we know how the turf is being carved out. But Pawar Sr wants Ajit Pawar to conform. To be fair to Sharad Pawar, he wants Ajit Pawar to have all the qualities he himself had; he was not asking for more.