Why Pawar keeps contradicting Congress and helping BJP

Just as the main opposition party Congress is planning to step up its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversy related to Adani Group finances, its ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has contradicted the party opposing its demand for a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into the issue.

Speaking on three different occasions this week, Pawar said that a probe by a Supreme Court appointed committee would be a better option than the JPC since the latter would be dominated by ruling party MPs. He also sought to downplay the Hindenburg report on Adani Group’s finances.

“We have to decide how much attention we should pay to the reports of foreign-based companies,” he remarked on Saturday.

So, is Pawar bailing out PM Modi and the BJP on the Adani issue?

Political analysts and his allies say Pawar’s stand is not surprising considering his history with Congress and propensity to maintain a good equation with those in power.

“Pawar is misleading people by talking about the majority structure of JPC. If the JPC is formed, all government agencies will have to submit necessary documents related to the Adani group and various ministries to the committee. Opposition parties will have access to the documents. Modi government does not want it to happen. The argument by Pawar is misleading and indirectly helpful to the Modi government,” said political analyst Prakash Bal.

A senior Congress leader pointed out that Pawar prefers to keep good equations with the party in power at the Centre. “That is his brand of politics. He doesn’t take an extreme stand on issues confronting the ruling party at the Centre. There are several reasons behind this and we are not surprised,” he said, on condition of anonymity.

He also pointed out that Pawar’s relations with his nephew and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar are not cordial, and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s attempt to get the latter into the NDA camp compels Pawar to stay in PM Modi’s good books. Ajit Pawar had tried to form a government with BJP in 2019 even as Pawar was forming a three-party coalition to keep BJP out of power after the assembly elections. Pawar managed to foil the attempt but there is suspicion about Ajit in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). In the recent budget session of the state legislature, MVA leaders were unhappy that Ajit, an opposition leader in the assembly, was not too critical of the ruling alliance, especially BJP. “Maintaining cordial relations with BJP’s top brass can keep Ajit in check,” he said.

Pawar’s present stance on Adani is not surprising also because of his defence of prime minister Modi in the Rafale controversy in 2018. Then Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had launched an attack on the prime minister, alleging irregularities in procurement of Rafale fighter aircraft in a deal with French company, Dassault Aviation. In the middle of the Congress campaign, Pawar publicly opined that he did not believe that people doubted Modi’s intentions in purchasing Rafale fighter jets – it elicited appreciation from then BJP president Amit Shah.

In 2014, when the BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 122 seats but fell short of majority of 145, Pawar offered unconditional support to the party to form the government. Pawar’s offer made things easier for the party and Devendra Fadnavis formed the government without Shiv Sena’s support.

Analysts also point out that Pawar’s uneasy relations with Congress leads to his stand on issues that often embarrass the grand old party.

“Pawar has never hidden his reservations about Congress leading the opposition alliance in the country. He wants Congress as a part of the alliance, not its face. So his reservation towards JPC to probe Adani in this context is apparent,” said political analyst Abhay Deshpande.

Significantly, last year, leaders of NCP and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut had made public statements that the Congress should consider making Pawar convenor of the coalition United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Congress is clearly not happy with Pawar’s latest remarks.

“Irrespective of the NCP chief’s opinion, there must be a JPC inquiry to find out the truth about Adani scam,” said state Congress chief Nana Patole on Saturday.

So, will the latest controversy affect the MVA, which has just began a statewide campaign against incumbent Shiv Sena-BJP government?

Top leaders from MVA say the local equations in Maharashtra makes the coalition a compulsion for Pawar.

“Pawar’s strength comes from his hold over Maharashtra. Not being in power in the state reduces his influence in Delhi. As such, currently there no option for NCP but to stick to the MVA,” said the Congress leader, pointing out that while Pawar rushed to the rescue of PM Modi in 2018, the very next year, he took the lead in cobbling up a three-party coalition to form a government to keep BJP out of power in Maharashtra.

"Congress should build consensus in a coalition before declaring any stand on a particular issue. Sharad Pawar never worries about what people think about him, and he speaks what he thinks is the correct stand on an issue", said Political analyst Pratap Asbe.