Blog | "I'll Be Chief Minister, You'll See": The Many Dreams Of Ajit Pawar

"Swati, you will see I will be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and then I will call you to Varsha and celebrate with your favourite wine." That was Ajit Pawar, who, unlike most other politicians who piously cloak their dreams of power in claims of public service, wore his ambition on his sleeve. 

The Meeting At Heathrow

I had a complicated relationship with Ajit Pawar. I was introduced to him by his uncle and mentor Sharad Pawar, whom I have known and admired for decades, awed by his political skills and his gamesmanship. Years ago, I was at the Heathrow airport in London when I heard a familiar voice behind me. There, at a huge confectionery shop, stood Pawar Senior, nattily dressed in a fancy suit, with his wife Pratibha and Ajit Pawar. I saw them buying bagfuls of chocolates, and Ajit Pawar, as usual, couldn't conceal his trademark impatience. That it made no difference to the doughty British lady behind the counter was a different thing. Pawar Senior laughed and told Ajit in Marathi, "Stop your fighting and meet this young and bright journalist. She is as aggressive as you, so be careful." 

Ajit said "Hello" quickly and went back to the counter to get the bill. Then, just as I was walking away, he called out, "Why are you rushing away? Take my number and give me yours, I will save it. Saheb has said na".

And that's how it always was. If 'Saheb' said it, the junior Pawar would do it.

'Kuch Zyada Bol Gaya'

Ajit was very different from his uncle - quick to lose his cool, given to intemperate statements in public, rough and ready with his politics, but with big plans for Maharashtra and himself. Once, after a particularly controversial remark made by him, I posted a very strong condemnation online. Two hours later, my phone rang, and the angry voice on the other end - without even a "Hello" -  declared, "Kuch zyada bol gaya (I said too much) ... Sometimes I have no control. But, you stop attacking me in public. Phone utha ke bol do na (why don't you tell me directly over phone?)."

Ajit Pawar was quick-tempered, and, in my view, not really cut out for public life, thanks to his frequent and rash outbursts. At the same time, he was a doer - an excellent manager who could dream big and had both the capacity and the drive to make his dreams come true. You only have to visit Baramati to see how the Pawar family has transformed it. From oranges to grapes for the wine industry to high-quality dairy products that Nestle buys in bulk for their chocolates, Baramati's progress has been incredible. In fact, Ajit was so proud of the wine industry in Nashik that he even got a grape variety to be named "Sharad" as a tribute to his uncle - something he personally told me about over a call. 

'Never A Maratha CM'

The Pawar family is inseparable. Even their very public family differences could never completely tear them apart. The celebrations for Sharad Pawar's 85th birthday reflected those iron bonds amply. There was also Supriya Sule's wedding, where Ajit Pawar had cried like a baby. 

Even after parting politically, Ajit Pawar always spoke very fondly of his aunt, uncle and niece. The first time around, he even returned to the original NCP on Pawar's command. Pawar was his hero, and he learned his politics by being around 'Saheb', as he himself once told me. "I wanted to be CM because I saw for myself what a great CM he [Sharad Pawar] was," Ajit Pawar once said to me when I asked him why he didn't want to enter national politics. "I don't like your Delhi, they will never let a Maratha rule. I want to be a King in my own kingdom." In an eerie coincidence, in fact, Sharad Pawar echoed the same view in a TV interview with me once when I asked him about his prime ministerial ambitions, which, at one point, he had nursed as tenderly as Ajit did his chief ministerial dreams: "Delhi would never let a Maratha be PM."

The Impatient, Impetuous Ajit

Given my own interactions with Ajit Pawar over the years, I liked to believe that Ajit Pawar respected strong women - especially so if you didn't succumb to his hectoring, bullying manner. Often when I wrote a column against his politics or tweeted against him, he would not ban me like other politicians but, after sulking for a while, would call me personally and insist, "You Delhi people don't understand politics." Once, he even quipped, "When I become CM you will eat your words with varan bhaat because you are silly enough to be vegetarian." 

There's something about politicians from Maharashtra. There's nothing cookie-cutter about them; each has their own personality. From the fire-breathing Bal Thackeray to the soft-spoken Uddhav, to the warring Raj Thackeray, the late Pramod Mahajan, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh and Gopinath Munde, all have their own distinct identities. Sharad Pawar may not be Ajit's father, but their relationship went beyond such traditional limitations. He loved Ajit like the son he didn't have, even ruing once sadly, "I wish I could tell Ajit he will never become CM."

(The author is a senior journalist)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author