Pawars deny trouble in NCP, but why BJP needs a new partner?

The Maharashtra politics is in the news again with the rumours of rebellion in NCP led by Ajit Pawar. Though both NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit have denied the rumours, the possibility of rebellion cannot be ruled out.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday recalled Sharad Pawar telling him last week that some leaders might bid goodbye to his party under pressure. At the meeting with Thackeray, Pawar had said to have spoken of pressure and threats being applied by Central agencies like ED, CBI and the police machinery to split the NCP in the manner of the Shiv Sena.

This leads to a question - why the BJP wants a new partner in Maharashtra? Here are a few possible reasons:

Supreme Court is expected to pass its verdict soon on the disqualification petition of 16 rebel Shiv Sena from CM Eknath Shinde's faction soon and the BJP does not want to take any chance if the verdict do not come its favour. Hence, the saffron party is looking for a partner, News18 reported citing sources in the BJP.

Sena had 55 members in the 288-member Assembly before Shinde-led rebellion and joined hands with 40 MLAs in the Assembly where where the magic number is 144. BJP has 105 seats while NCP and Congress have 53 and 44 legislatures, respectively.

Shiv Sena does not have enough MLAs and Congress is not an option for BJP as the grand old party is its arch rival. Hence, BJP is looking at having NCP MLAs by its side, thus keeping its government in Maharashtra stable.

However, another source told the channel that BJP is looking for another partner as it is not happy with Shinde's performance. "This government has completely failed on the issue of farmers. They are not taking any positive decision for the people of the State. So, considering the general election in 2024, it is very difficult for the BJP to win maximum seats from the State. Hence, the BJP is looking out for another partner. But, as of now, there is no such movement in the party and Sharad Pawar is in touch with all the NCP leaders and MLAs," a source from the NCP said.

It may be recalled that Ajit Pawar had earlier rebelled against the NCP and joined hands with the BJP to become Deputy Chief Minister. However, Sharard Pawar had managed to bring Ajit back to the party fold then.