Ajit Pawar's rebellion: How it happened and what lies ahead for NCP leader

In 2019, Ajit Pawar had rebelled against his party which was led by his uncle, Sharad Pawar. How is this second rebellion different?

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar made headlines on Sunday when he was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition government in Maharashtra. This move came a little over a week after 15 parties gathered in Patna to unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

Alongside Pawar, eight other members of legislative assembly (MLAs) from NCP, including senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal, took oath as ministers at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai

In response, NCP has filed a disqualification petition against Pawar and the other eight  MLAs.

This move is reminiscent of the events in 2019 as well as Sharad Pawar’s own rebellion in 1978.

Here’s how the events unfolded, what happened in 2019 and the significance of the anti-defection law, and how they may apply to Deputy CM Pawar.

Ajit Pawar's political career

Ajit Pawar is a prominent leader of the NCP and has held several key positions in Maharashtra's political landscape, including being the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government from November 2019 to June 2022. He is well-known for his grassroots leadership and administrative abilities and even held the position of finance minister for Maharashtra.

Deputy chief minister for 80 hours

In 2019, Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the deputy chief minister (DCM) of Maharashtra alongside chief minister Devendra Fadnavis after a split between BJP and Shiv Sena. This government lasted for 80 hours and Pawar returned to the NCP, making him the shortest-serving DCM in India.

Pawar would then begin his second stint as DCM on December 16, 2019 for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration.

However, this recent rebellion and the amount of support Pawar has received from other members of NCP has caused a significant split in the party and the event weakened the MVA alliance that includes NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena.

Sharad Pawar stated, "We live in a democratic country where everyone has the right to speak for themselves and keep their points. Ajit Pawar's move is his own decision and point of view."

In light of this news, Sharad Pawar also announced a meeting for July 5, stating that they would rebuild the party.

Sharad Pawar's Rebellion in 1978

Ajit Pawar is not the only member of NCP or his family to have rebelled in this form. In 1978, his uncle and current chief of NCP, Sharad Pawar rebelled against the Vasantdada Patil government in Maharashtra.

Congress (I) led by Indira Gandhi and Congress (Urs) led by D Devraj Urs, united after the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 1978. They formed a coalition government under the leadership of Vasantdada Patil.

At that time, Sharad Pawar was a part of the Congress (Urs) faction. He, along with 40 other MLAs, revolted against the government, which resulted in its downfall. He sought support from the Janata Party to become the chief minister at the young age of 38.

The Anti-Defection law

The anti-defection law, part of the tenth schedule of the Indian Constitution, was introduced in 1985 to curb defections by legislators. It applies to both the Parliament and state legislatures.

Under this law, legislators risk losing their seats if they abstain from voting or vote against the party whip on any issue.

However, there are two exceptions outlined in the law that allow for abstention without consequences. Firstly, if one-third of the legislators in a political party resign, and secondly, if two-thirds of the legislators merge with another party.

The anti-defection law was amended in 2003 to allow speakers the authority to decide on instances of defection.

Right now the NCP has filed a petition against the members who have defected, but it is unclear whether or not the law may be applied. Pawar requires majority support with at least 36 legislators to not attract the provisions of the anti-defection law. Reportedly, Pawar only has 30 at the moment.

"We have filed a disqualification petition with the speaker of the assembly, and we will send hard copies as soon as possible. This disqualification petition was filed against nine leaders," said NCP leader Jayant Patil.

He added, "They didn't inform anyone that they were leaving the party, which is against the NCP. We have also written a letter to the Election Commission of India. We are not accepting this; these nine leaders didn't inform us before doing this (leaving the party)."

"We believe most of the MLAs will come back to the NCP, and we will accept them again," he further added.