Pawar blames 'impatient' Fadnavis on alliance 'rift'; Rahul doesn't help

The Maharashtra ruling coalition is safe and there is no threat to it, Sharad Pawar, leader of NCP, a partner in the alliance, sought to assert, dismissing talk of rift among the allies amid the COVID pandemic.

“Fadnavis is getting impatient,” Pawar told NDTV, implying that Devendra Fadnavis, the former chief minister and leader of BJP was keen to regain his post by toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) or Grand Alliance government of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress.

“But there is no threat to the Maharashtra government. All MLAs are with us. Any attempt to break them at this time will result in the public beating us,” Pawar said.

There have been reports of the BJP launching its famed Operation Lotus to break coalition government, as it had done in Karnataka last year, wherein disgruntled MLAs of the ruling coalition partners would be wooed away to reduce the alliance to a minority.

Related news: Maharashtra government strong, says Raut amid rumours of rift

Besides, there have rumours of rift within the alliance over the continuation of the lockdown in Maharashtra as Pawar had sought to ease the lockdown in a phased manner instead of continuing it.

Against this backdrop, Sanjay Raut, senior Shiv Sena leader, too had reiterated that all was well within the government.

However, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi further complicated matters when while addressing media on the COVID fight that his party was not the key decision-maker but a mere supporter.

“I would like to make a differentiation here. We are supporting the government in Maharashtra, but we are not the key decision-maker in Maharashtra. We are decision-makers in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Puducherry. There is a difference between running the government and supporting it,” Rahul said in response to questions on the COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra, which is the worst-affected state in the country.

While Congress leaders said his statement was being twisted to give a different meaning, NCP MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule sought to douse the fire by supporting Rahul’s remarks: “He’s absolutely right. It’s a coalition. Everyone takes a decision together. (Maharashtra Chief Minister) Uddhav Thackeray takes everyone into confidence. I’ve seen him first hand, he takes everyone along.”

Following the October 2019 elections, when no single party had the lead, Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar had taken a few MLAs and supported Fadnavis in forming a government, which lasted only for 72 hours though. The senior Pawar helped manouvre a come-back, with Uddhav as the CM.