Mumbai, February 26 – The newly elected Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President, Sunetra Pawar, faces multifaceted challenges, ranging from personal electoral battles to the very survival of the party faction.
Her immediate focus is expected to be on further strengthening the party organization, not just in Maharashtra but across the country, while continuing the legacy of her husband and former National President and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, late Ajit Pawar.
Stepping into the shoes of her late husband, Ajit Pawar, Sunetra Pawar inherits the NCP at a critical juncture.
The first and foremost challenge is to get elected from Baramati in the upcoming by-election.
Sunetra Pawar is not currently a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly or Council.
To remain the Deputy Chief Minister, she must be elected to the State Legislature within six months.
She is expected to contest the Baramati Assembly by-election.
While there are talks of the Opposition (Maha Vikas Aghadi) allowing her an "uncontested" win out of respect for the late Ajit Pawar, a contested battle would be a trial by fire for the NCP's local leadership.
Secondly, Sunetra Pawar will have to skillfully manage the "Pawar vs Pawar" dynamic.
The most persistent challenge to her presidency is the relationship with the veteran leader and NCP-SP President, Sharad Pawar.
There is intense speculation about a potential merger between her faction and the NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar).
She will have to carefully decide on the merger between the two factions of the NCP or taking the party forward as a partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra and the NDA alliance at the national level.
If she moves toward a merger, she risks losing the distinct identity that Ajit Pawar fought to build.
If she refuses, she faces the daunting task of competing against the NCP patriarch's enduring emotional appeal among the Maratha community.
Sunetra Pawar will have to navigate the complex power-sharing agreement with the BJP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena in Maharashtra ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, which are scheduled for 2029.
She needs to ensure that the NCP remains an equal alliance partner and isn't "swallowed" by the larger BJP machinery.
As the Minister of State for Excise and Minority Development, she will have to demonstrate administrative results quickly to prove that she is more than just a "legacy appointment".
Sunetra Pawar also faces the challenge of holding the NCP together, especially given that Ajit Pawar's leadership was defined by his personal loyalty among MLAs and his "Dada" (big brother) persona.
Many senior NCP leaders like Praful Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal are veterans with their own ambitions.
Sunetra Pawar will have to establish her own authority to prevent internal factions from pulling the party in different directions.
Besides, she will have to chart her path with a combination of party veterans and young party leaders.
She will have to transition from her background in social work and "behind-the-scenes" management to becoming a mass-appeal orator, who can galvanize workers for the upcoming local body and Zilla Parishad elections.
Party insiders say that Parth Pawar, who is the son of Ajit and Sunetra Pawar, is expected to be nominated for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, which is scheduled to take place on March 16.
While common in Indian politics, Sunetra Pawar will have to manage the public perception of the NCP becoming a family-centric enterprise, especially when the party's original split was partly fueled by similar criticisms.
(Sanjay Jog can be contacted as [email protected])
