Did Ajit Pawar mishandle the issue of Munde’s resignation?

Food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde was asked to resign by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday following a closed-door meeting the previous evening with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Munde himself and other senior leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Although the decision came after mounting pressure on the government after Munde’s close aide Walmik Karad was implicated in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, Pawar himself had consistently ignored all demands of Munde’s dismissal from the cabinet by his Mahayuti partners and Opposition.

Since the day of the murder – December 9 -- several leaders within the NCP (MLA Prakash Solanke was one) as well as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena insisted that Munde step down. But Pawar remained resolute on his stance saying there was no need for Munde to resign as he was not found involved in the crime.

Ajit Pawar’s reluctance to sack Munde

Pawar’s reluctance stemmed from his proximity with Munde and the fact that he was the only prominent face from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community in the Mahayuti government.

Dhananjay Munde has been Pawar’s close aide for several years – during his failed coup of 2019, only Munde and Sunil Tatkare (currently the party’s state president) stood by him. Munde also played a key role in the 2023 split of the party. Pawar had already kept out Chhagan Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader, from ministerial portfolios in the Mahayuti 2.0 government. “That left only Munde as a prominent face in the government – reason enough for Pawar not being keen on Munde’s dismissal,” a senior NCP leader told HT.

“When the Opposition as well as ruling party leaders, such as BJP MLA Suresh Dhas, put pressure on the government, Ajit dada discussed the matter with Munde who called it a hype created by NCP (SP). Pawar maintained the same line of thought. He made this clear to the BJP, leading Fadnavis to say that Pawar’s decision on Munde will be final,” the leader added.

At NCP leadership’s insistence, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule even asked Dhas to “sort out issues” with Munde. And just when everyone thought the course of the narrative was shifting, Pawar revisited the time he chose to resign “for personal reasons” when allegations of irrigation scam were levelled on him. He therefore left it to Munde “to take a call”. His Mahayuti colleagues saw this an as indication that Munde would “resign on moral grounds”. But nothing of the sort happened.

Lately, while the Opposition seemed to have taken a step back from raising its voice on the issue, video clips of the inhuman torture followed by the murder of sarpanch Deshmukh became viral – the NCP leadership had no option but to give in; that Deshmukh was a Maratha (and Munde a Vanjari) added grist to the push for Munde’s dismissal.

Many Mahayuti leaders opine that Ajit Pawar’s “flip-flop on the Munde issue” has politically damaged not only the party but most likely the ruling alliance as well.

“Pawar first refused to take cognizance of the serious allegations related to activities of Karad and his associates. Later, he spoke about morality which created an impression that Munde was not listening to him,” said a senior BJP minister who was in favour of Munde’s sacking.

The Maratha-OBC divide surfaces

Meanwhile, Pawar’s stand has also stoked the ire of Marathas in Marathwada as well, the leader added. “He was seen shielding Munde,” he said. The reigning enmity between the Marathas and Vanjaris since the mid-1990s received fresh energy. It had escalated recently with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s demand for reservation of Marathas in the OBC quota, which was being opposed by the Vanjaris in this region.

The fact that the deceased was a Maratha and the assailants were Vanjari fuelled the flames. “In this background, Pawar should have asked Munde to step down but he chose not to. Now they are trying to control the political damage the party has suffered as both the communities are unhappy,” said the BJP minister.

The NCP top brass is now assessing how to set things right. To begin with, Pawar will have to find a replacement for Munde and also take measures to reach out to a displeased Maratha community in Beed and adjoining districts. A senior NCP minister, who did not wish to be named said, “We thought Munde would go sooner, which did not happen. Now, we have to reach out to both the communities in Marathwada region.”