Mumbai | Nationalist Congress Party leader (NCP) Sharad Pawar has said that Uddhav Thackeray failed to quell the discontent within his own party and resigned as Maharashtra chief minisbookter without putting up a fight.
He and others also sensed a lack of political deftness in Thackeray, something which a chief minister needs, Pawar said in the revised version of his autobiography, released on Tuesday.
The formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena was not just a "power game" but strong riposte to the Bharatiya Janata Party's tendency to finish off the importance of other political parties by hook or by crook, Pawar wrote in the book.
It was expected that there would be attempts to destabilize the MVA government, but "we did not anticipate that there would be a storm within the Shiv Sena due to Uddhav Thackeray becoming chief minister," he said.
"The Sena leadership fell short in quelling this outburst of discontent," the veteran politician wrote.
"As Uddhav resigned without putting up a fight (after Eknath Shinde and other Sena MLAs rebelled against him in June 2022), the MVA's stint in power came to an end," he further said.
Noting that Thackeray's health became a constraint for him, the NCP leader noted that a chief minister needs "political acumen" and must remain well-informed about political goings-on, and "we all felt that these things were lacking." He attributed it to Thackeray's inexperience.
While the middle class liked Thackeray's interaction with the people through Facebook Live during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was difficult to fathom why he chose to visit the Mantralaya, the government's headquarters, only twice during this period, Pawar wrote.
Pawar's revised Marathi autobiography `Lok Maze Sangati' (People Accompany Me) touches upon events post 2015 when the first edition of the book was published.
Mumbai | The Congress suddenly remembers its stature as a national party when it is dealing with other parties and this attitude was evident during the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, NCP leader Sharad Pawar has said.
In an updated version of his Marathi autobiography 'Lok Majhe Sangati' (People Accompany Me) which focuses on events post 2015, Pawar accused Congress leaders of stubbornness when discussions were on to form the MVA government.
The unlikely alliance of the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena came into existence after the Sena fell out with the BJP post 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra.
“Congress is undoubtedly central to the opposition unity. But when it comes to reconciling with other parties and giving them importance, it suddenly realises its nationwide strength. This is my observation,” Pawar wrote in the book, launched here on Tuesday.
He later flagged this "arrogant attitude" of the Congress in an interview where he compared the Grand Old Party to a landlord who has lost his lands and can not maintain his mansion but keeps boasting about past glory, he said.
The Congress's attitude during the talks, which eventually led to the formation of the MVA, tested his patience, and at one point he even felt that the parleys could not continue, Pawar wrote.
The NCP leader also said the Congress had contested the 2019 Assembly polls with a “defeatist” mentality, but his and the NCP's aggressive campaign helped the party increase its tally slightly.
