The deepening distrust between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, partners in the ruling coalition in the state, hit a new low on Wednesday as chief minister Ashok Chavan and power and water resources minister Ajit Pawar engaged in a no-holds-barred verbal slugfest. The incident, termed “decidedly ugly” by ministers present, came 24 hours before the government faces the budget session.
What stunned the 27 cabinet ministers present was the aggression from the normally non-combative chief minister. With coalition compulsions in mind, Chavan, who has been under attack from the NCP ministers on several occasions, had been maintaining an unruffled composure so far. But his acerbic exchange with arguably the second-most powerful NCP leader in the state indicates that he is in no mood to back off now. This might have grave repercussions on the stability of the Democratic Front government.
According to ministers present at the cabinet meeting, NCP’s ‘angry young man’ Ajit Pawar minced no words while questioning the chief minister’s style of functioning and several decisions. The crux of the matter is believed to be the hidden agenda related to land allocation for power projects.
Minutes after walking out of the meeting, a cabinet minister sarcastically said, “The temperature inside was quite hot. Everybody is sweating inside the air-conditioned chamber.”
A senior cabinet minister said, “Ajit (Pawar) was extremely aggressive and unrelenting in his attack against the chief minister. Chavan also retaliated in the same vein.” It is learnt that a miffed Ajit Pawar even skipped the CM’s customary tea party later in the day.
But an unconcerned Chavan issued a warning, saying, “The purpose of the cabinet meeting is to discuss policy matters related to various departments. Hereafter, everybody should strictly adhere to discussions mentioned in the agenda.”
He also indicated that if the ministers wanted to air their differences, a core committee comprising the chief minister, the deputy chief minister and a couple of senior cabinet ministers could address the matter. But cabinet meeting could not become the forum for infighting.
The development has not gone unnoticed in the Congress and the NCP headquarters. “If Chavan tries to hijack the administration to undermine the NCP politically, we cannot run such a coalition,” said an NCP leader. A majority of NCP ministers and cadre rallied behind Pawar to express solidarity.
Insiders said, “The dispute between the Congress and the NCP runs deeper. The NCP is upset because the Congress is secretly supporting the rebel candidate Manikrao Jagtap in the by-elections for state legislative council from Raigad. Jagtap has been expelled from the NCP. But he has been claiming in public that Chavan and state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre are supporting him.
The official candidate of the NCP is Anil Tatkare, brother of finance minister (NCP) Sunil Tatkare.” The Tatkare brothers are extremely close to Ajit Pawar, who would not like anybody challenging his candidate in the by-polls.
The by-election apart, there are several issues regarding daily administration where NCP ministers feel they have been sidelined or not consulted in decision-making by Chavan. The NCP’s grievance is that Chavan is interfering in every department held by the NCP ministers.
The chief minister’s decision to have interactions with bureaucrats in the absence of the minister of the department concerned has not gone down well among the coalition partners. But insiders in the chief minister’s office said, “Chavan, by virtue of his highest post in the Democratic Front government, has the discretionary powers to summon any bureaucrat for briefing and issuing directions. There is nothing illegal about his functioning.”
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