After JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar severed ties with Congress, RJD alliance and joined hands with the BJP to take over as the Chief Minister of Bihar once again the morale of opposition has hit an all-time low. Many political parties are soon going to emulate Nitish and join hands with BJP with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. According to sources, NCP president Sharad Pawar too is keen to join Shiv Sena for strengthening his party ahead of general election. Pawar who always had ambitions to become Prime Minister this time wants to give a facelift to his daughter Supriya Sule’s political career. Thus Pawar who had ambitions to make it big at national level will try to play an active role in the state politics.
Ever since the BJP had come to power Pawar was always seen trying to cosy with the saffron party. The NCP had initially offered support to the Fadnavis government when it had fallen short of majority after the 2014 state assembly polls. Later NCP had withdrawn support to BJP as Sena came to the saffron party’s rescue. Even though Sharad Pawar and Prime Minister are political rivals and often criticise each other but the NCP leader doesn’t mind sharing stage with the PM at various functions.
Already Sanjay Nirupam’s rivalry with Gurudas Kamat has weakened the Congress. The party also lacks an amicable leader who can connect with the masses and prepare for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Moreover, Nitish Kumar’s decision to shift loyalties towards BJP has given a severe jolt to the party. It also is a major setback to opposition parties strategy to form a grand alliance to stop the BJP juggernaut ahead of the general election.
According to sources from Congress, “Many Congress leaders are unhappy with the functioning of the party vice president Rahul Gandhi. He remains inaccessible to lower rank leaders. Right now Congress is going through a major crisis and the morale of party workers is low. The party’s growth also is affected due to the prevalence of infighting within various leaders.”
“Pawar is keen to merge his party with Shiv Sena. He wants to create a base for his daughter in the state politics which will make her a serious contender for the chief ministerial post. Thus he is trying to groom his daughter for playing a major role in the state’s politics. Supriya is already being seen as political heir of Sharad Pawar and take over the reins of the party from him,” said a source from NCP.
