The fight with Ajit Pawar is real and there’s no question of reconciliation: Supriya Sule

NCP MP Supriya Sule in conversation with Vinaya Deshpande, Chief of Bureau (Maharashtra) and Vikas Dhoot during the The Hindu Poll Arena conclave.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

The fight with Ajit Pawar is real and there is no question of reconciliation as he had gone out of his free will, said Baramati Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule, ending speculations of a reconciliation between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, at The Hindu Poll Arena. She added that Mr. Sharad Pawar would not retire from politics.

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Responding to questions about the possibilities of a reproachment from Mr. Ajit Pawar’s side, she said such attempts were with the voters alone. Moreover, she dispelled statements regarding Mr. Sharad Pawar’s retirement that came from Mr. Ajit Pawar. “Sharad Pawar eats, drinks, breathes politics, it is his tonic. He said he will not fight elections,” said Ms. Sule. “Ajit Pawar wanted him to retire because he wanted an alliance, which Mr. Pawar was not willing to do,” she added.

Maharashtra Poll Arena concludes: see the highlights here

Loss of symbol

Ms. Sule spoke about the state of mind in the party when the Sharad Pawar faction had lost the party and the symbol. “We were done with it. We had nothing more to lose. The party and symbol were taken away from Sharad Pawar. The fight was far more important than the outcome of the election last time,” she said.

Also Read: SC again directs Ajit Pawar to publish disclaimer in newspapers on NCP’s ‘clock’ symbol

Ms. Sule said she was not sure of even winning the seat. “In the Lok Sabha elections we were okay even if we did not win even a single seat, because people were running us down. We had only problems every day of our lives.” She said court battles, visits to the Election Commission, Collector offices, and fighting income tax cases had become a new normal for the party. “I would not want anybody in the world to go through this,” she said. The fight was not against anything that was happening by the book and was a “colossal waste of time, energy and brain space”, she added.

Ms. Sule referred to the Centre’s dispensation, which operated in a way which was not according to rules, as ‘AS’ — adrushya shakti or an invisible power. “AS. Do you get it? Adrushya Shakti. Either you succumb to it or you fight it”, she added. A year since then, she said nearly 1,600 applications were made from the party members to contest election and that was reassuring.

Addressing the possibility of friendly fights and the lack of co-ordination in campaign between alliance partners, Ms. Sule said there was no need for a discussion about such fights when parties in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had the clarity and were well aligned.

Voter apathy

Speaking about the voter apathy and low turnout in urban areas like Mumbai, Ms. Sule said this was because the voters disliked the banter and lack of serious discussions in politics. Referring to the BJP’s poll advertisements, she said allegations of schemes being discontinued with change in dispensation were ‘childish’. Calling it ‘fear psychosis’, she said the advertisements tried to arm-twist the voters. The MP alleged that the Mahayuti alliance did not have clarity on issues such as inflation and unemployment. This, she said, was a new trend in the BJP and the old guard did not have this lack of clarity. “The only thing that will stop when we come to power will be crime against women. We will take law and order very seriously when we come to power” Ms. Sule emphasised.

 The statements assume significance as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi announced five guarantees, two among them pertaining to welfare schemes benefiting women. The MVA promised a monthly cash benefit of ₹3,000 and free bus service to women under the Mahalakhsmi Yojana. Apart from this, he promised a loan waiver of up to ₹3 lakh to farmers in addition to an incentive of ₹50,000 on loan repayment. The alliance also promised health insurance up to ₹25 lakh and free medicines. Mr. Gandhi guaranteed monthly unemployment wages amounting to ₹4,000 for jobless youth and a caste census in the State and removing the 50% ceiling on reservation.

He made the promises in the mega rally on November 5 at Mumbai. NCP(SP) chief Mr. Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and major party functionaries of the alliance partners were present at the meeting.