Monday Musings: In Maharashtra, politics has always been family business
Last week NCP chief Sharad Pawar appointed his daughter Supriya Sule (L) and Praful Patel as working presidents.
More than three decades ago when eminent journalist Varunraj Bhide wrote how only a handful of families control Maharashtra’s politics, what he perhaps implied is that the ‘dynasty’ is bound to grow at all levels in the state.
Bhide wrote there are more than 100 such families which are related through marriages, and have been dominating Maharashtra’s politics through various sectors including cooperatives.
Last week when Sharad Pawar appointed his daughter Supriya Sule and Praful Patel as working presidents of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), it surprised none. The NCP (read Pawar) created these roles just to accommodate the two leaders but it is seen as a move that cleared the path for Sule to be the next party president.
More than the working president, Sule’s real elevation lies in being appointed as in-charge of Maharashtra and the head of the central election authority, the body responsible for selecting party nominees during upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Sule, a three-time Lok Sabha MP, along with her cousin Ajit Pawar, is among the front-runners to be the heir apparent of Sharad Pawar. With the latest announcement, 82-year-old Pawar senior has for the time being put rest the debate over who will succeed him.
Maharashtra has a long history of dynastic politics and its reflection is seen when dynast gets crucial post in party structure or in power. If Maharashtra has seen 21 politicians in the post of chief ministers so far, there are a handful of exceptions like Manohar Joshi, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, and Devendra Fadnavis whose children have not followed them into politics.
Over the years, numerous political families have dominated the state’s political landscape, raising concerns about the concentration of power and limited opportunities for new leaders to emerge. The defenders of dynastic politics however argue that the electorate’s choice to support political families demonstrates a level of trust and confidence in their abilities. They contend that political families have a deep understanding of the socio-political dynamics of the state, which enables effective governance and development.
Be it Pawars, Thackerays, Deshmukhs, Mundes, Ranes, Vikhes, Chavans, Shindes, the list is unending and no political party is untouched by the dynastic politics. The father-son duo, the late Shankarrao Chavan and his son Ashok, were both chief ministers; the senior led the state twice, first from 1975-77 and then from 1986-88, while the latter was chief minister in 2008-10.
In Maharashtra’s power centre of Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray held a cabinet position when his father Uddhav was at the helm of affairs in the state between 2019 to 2022. It was Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray who chose Uddhav over his cousin Raj to hand over the party’s reigns.
Years later, Bal Thackeray launched his grand-son Aditya into politics anointing him as the head of its youth wing during the 2010 Dussehra rally that witnessed three generations of Thackerays sharing the podium.
The perpetuation of dynastic politics has had both positive and negative repercussions on Maharashtra’s political landscape. On one hand, the continuity provided by political families brought stability to the organisation, it brought experience to dynasts, and a sense of familiarity to voters.
The next generation of family members leveraged the political network built by their predecessors, giving them an advantage in mobilizing support. Additionally, dynastic politics has often facilitated the smooth transfer of power within parties, reducing internal conflicts and ensuring party unity.
It has at the same time hindered the growth of democracy within the party. The concentration of power within a few families limited opportunities for fresh faces and aspiring leaders, stifling meritocracy.
In NCP’s case, party’s overreliance on Pawar was on one hand helping it politically but it was also a cause of concern in the party especially when its graph has been declining. With Pawar still at the helm, the announcement of Sule as working president when he is still active will bring her legitimacy.
However, at the same time, the challenge before the party will be to keep its flock together. Several senior leaders of the party have already deserted it ahead of 2019 and 2014 polls and all eyes will be on senior leaders like Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Jayant Patil.
