Wednesday, June 10, 2009, marks the 10th anniversary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). But they will be low-key.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009, marks the 10th anniversary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). But they will be low-key. Morale in the party is at an all-time low, following a rather poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections and the arrest of its senior leader and member of Parliament, Padamsinh Patil, on charges of murder.
Not surprising then that Pawar is skipping the celebrations, and calling on party members to engage in an introspection exercise on June 17. After all, at stake are the credibility of Pawar and the future of the NCP.
The party was born after Pawar, along with PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar, declared their opposition to Sonia Gandhi as a possible prime minister. But the issue became secondary after the NCP and Congress allied to form the government in Maharashtra in 1999. This alliance has since endured.
Moreover, with Sonia Gandhi refusing to become prime minister in 2004, the party’s very raison d’etre came under question, and which has been once more raised after the NCP’s poor showing in the recent elections.
Besides these existentialist questions, bedeviling the party today is the perceived highhandedness of the Maratha leadership in the party, which has alienated those from the other castes and created factions within the party.
Senior NCP leaders like Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, Madhukar Pichhad and Chhagan Bhujbal et al find themselves sidelined in policy-making while the second-rank leaders – Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, Dilip Walse-Patil, RR Patil, et al – are busy squabbling.
The biggest challenge for Pawar is to re-inforce the mantra of social engineering by broadening the party’s appeal to the non-Maratha groups in the state.
While the Congress is seen as an “inclusive party”, the NCP simply lacks that appeal. The party is perceived as associated with money and muscle politics and for the Maratha caste.
A senior cabinet minister from the NCP said he worried about the state splitting along caste lines. “What is more worrying is that ruling Maratha leaders are mindlessly promoting dirty politics which has upset not only the backward castes but also the minorities and business communities across state.”
State NCP chief Sachin Ahir, who is organising the celebrations, pointed out that every political party has its ups and down. “But it is baseless to presume the party will split. We are all united. We will overcome the crisis.”
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