Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Nawab Malik, on December 7, sat on the treasury benches in the Maharashtra legislative assembly with the party faction led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and sparked off unrest within the coalition government in the state.
Malik’s seating arrangements during the winter session of the state legislature led to speculation about whether he had aligned with the Ajit camp by breaking ranks with the rival group led by Sharad Pawar. This prompted the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, who is the other deputy chief minister in the government, to write to his counterpart against Malik’s possible inclusion in the ruling coalition.
In 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Malik, then minister for minority kalyan in the erstwhile Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, in an alleged case of money laundering linked to the underworld. The BJP, which is now Ajit’s senior ally, had then raised the pitch against Malik, with Fadnavis himself leading the charge.
Malik is out on bail since August on medical grounds. He attended the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur for the first time since his arrest.
This public posturing by the BJP over Malik underlines its position as the principal ally and driving force in the ruling coalition. Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, is seen to be in the driver’s seat in the government, with authority over the bureaucracy exceeding that vested with chief minister Eknath Shinde and Ajit. The issue also indicates a possible erosion of authority and loss of face for Ajit, who otherwise has an upfront and aggressive public image and was seen as the de facto chief minister in the MVA government.
The Malik issue was raised in the state legislative council by leader of the Opposition and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Ambadas Danve. “A member of the state assembly sat on the treasury benches. The chief minister and deputy chief minister have made statements in the past that they will not sit next to those charged with anti-national activities,” he said. In his reply, Fadnavis chided the Opposition for not removing Malik from the cabinet in the past despite him being in jail on these charges.
While the Opposition was going for the jugular, there were voices of unrest even within the three-party ruling coalition. Sanjay Shirsat, MLA and spokesperson of Shinde’s Shiv Sena, said this was “not sending the right message.” Later that evening, Fadnavis issued an open letter to Ajit, in which he said “âæconsidering the kind of allegations made against him (Malik), we feel it may not be right to take him into the mahayuti (grand alliance)”. “Power comes and goesâæ if he is exonerated of the charges against him, you may surely welcome him,” he added.
“It is entirely in your authority to decide who must be admitted to your party, and [we] accept it. But it is the duty of every constituent of the mahayuti to ensure that it (the alliance) is not affected adversely, and we are opposed to this,” wrote Fadnavis. Fadnavis also uploaded the letter on micro-blogging site X with a post in Marathi: “Power comes and goes. But the country is more important than power…”
On December 8, Ajit snapped at reporters when asked about the Malik controversy. “I will give my opinion after listening to Nawab Malik’s stance,” he said, adding that Malik was yet to reveal which NCP faction he was supporting.
Former Union minister Praful Patel, who is the working president of Ajit’s NCP faction, tried to downplay Fadnavis’s letter and pointed to how Malik was yet to make it clear where he stood. He claimed that during their meetings with Malik after his release from jail, they had not discussed politics but had only enquired about his health. Patel charged that the Opposition was raking up “non-issues” after their recent drubbing in the elections to five state assemblies.
This also reopened a controversy about the presence of more such ‘tainted’ leaders in the ranks of the ruling parties. Sushma Andhare, deputy leader of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), pointed to how Sanjay Rathod, who had to step down as forest minister in the MVA regime in 2021 after the death by suicide of a 21-year-old TikTok star, was part of the government. Back then, Rathod had been vehemently attacked by the BJP. Rathod, an MLA from Digras in Yavatmal district, is now the minister for soil and water conservation after supporting Shinde in his coup against Uddhav Thackeray.
Incidentally, while in the Opposition, the BJP had also attacked leaders from the MVA. BJP leader and former Lok Sabha MP Kirit Somaiya had made allegations against the Shiv Sena MLA from Byculla in Mumbai, Yamini Jadhav, and her husband Yashwant Jadhav, who was chairman of the powerful Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation standing committee, and Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik. They had to face the heat from central agencies like the ED. Now, the Jadhav couple and Sarnaik are with Shinde after joining his June 2022 rebellion that felled the MVA government. Somaiya had also accused NCP leader Hasan Mushrif of money laundering. Mushrif has joined the state cabinet as minister for medical education.
While in the Opposition from 2009 to 2014, the BJP had charged Ajit with irregularities and graft in irrigation projects to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore, during his tenure as water resources minister. Ajit’s split with Sharad Pawar was preceded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacking him over corruption.
Sanjay Raut, Rajya Sabha MP of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), cited the example of the property of Praful Patel—Ceejay House at Worli in central Mumbai—being attached by the ED. This was part of its probe in a money-laundering case involving gangster Iqbal Mirchi. Patel is seen as one of the prime movers in Ajit’s split from his uncle Sharad Pawar to join hands with the BJP.
Nana Patole, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, charged Fadnavis with “double-standards”. “If you do not want Nawab Malik, then how can Fadnavis get along with Praful Patel, who has [alleged] links with mafia don Dawood Ibrahim’s associate Iqbal Mirchi?” he asked. When asked about this, Patel said: “I have no need to reply to those who do not know me.”
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