Was the support of NCP to BJP the biggest historical mistake?

Political activities have intensified before the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, India.

When the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi arrived in Nashik two days ago to start campaigning from the BJP, he had targeted the Congress, but also made strong comments on NCP and its senior leader Sharad Pawar. He surrounded the opposition on Article 370, saying that while the whole country is in support of it, the Congress and NCP are opposing it.

And now NCP has targeted BJP, saying that supporting BJP was their biggest mistake.

NCP national general secretary Jitendra Awhad said this in a program in BBC Marathi. He said that supporting BJP in Maharashtra was his party's biggest mistake.

In view of the Maharashtra assembly elections, in a session of Rashtra-Maharashtra organized by the BBC Marathi program in Pune, Jitendra Awhad said "The party convened a confidential meeting in Alibaug (Maharashtra). Where only 35-40 leaders of the party were invited I was standing right next to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and said that if we compromise with our ideals then we should end Sector. ''

This statement of Jitendra Awhad is special because NCP is a party that refrains from talking about any controversial decision.

The 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections made a hung assembly. BJP emerged as the largest party. It won 122 seats but needed 23 more seats to prove its majority. A majority of 145 seats were to be proved. The Shiv Sena was fighting the elections independently, breaking its alliance with the BJP even before the elections and was not ready to support the BJP to form the government at any cost.

It was Sharad Pawar's NCP party that came forward to take BJP's lead through 41 seats. Just after the election results came, NCP proposed to support BJP from outside. Sharad Pawar had said, "For the creation of a stable government and for the good of Maharashtra, we have only one option left to support the BJP so that it can form the government."

The NCP's support not only paved the way for the BJP to form the government in the richest state of the country, but it also increased the pressure on the Shiv Sena and it had to think to establish its place in the state's politics.

Experts believe that Pawar's move jolted the Shiv Sena plan and she was no longer in a position to negotiate with the BJP as the BJP now had the support of the NCP outside of the Shiv Sena as Plan B.

Many leaders, including senior BJP leader LK Advani, had said at that time that joining hands with the Shiv Sena should have been a priority rather than a losing and tainted party NCP. After a long debate, there was considerable negotiation and after that ten members of Shiv Sena joined the Fadnavis government.

But if one feels that the love between the BJP and NCP had ended with the Shiv Sena joining the government in 2014, it was not so. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Sharad Pawar's Baramati house in the year 2015.

Supriya had said that the meeting was based on development. She is an MP from Baramati and also a daughter of Sharad Pawar.

Then in 2016, Modi was in Pune in connection with another program. Where he publicly praised Pawar. He had said, "I have no hesitation in saying or accepting that in the early stages of my political life in Gujarat, Pawar only taught me to hold my hand and walk."

But after that in the local elections in the year 2017, when the NCP was defeated by BJP, the equations changed since then.

The NCP started taking a very tough stance with the BJP after those elections. From fighting against the communal BJP, to supporting the BJP for stability and now against the fascist BJP… NCP has taken a U-turn but now it is difficult for them to defend their decisions.

Another party that has taken a U-turn is the Swabhimani Kisan Party. Its founder and former MP Raju Shetty fought against Sharad Pawar for a long time. He then joined the NDA in 2014 but left it in 2017. Now his party is an ally of NCP. This party also has dominance in southern Maharashtra.

When Shetty was questioned about his U-turn during a BBC program, he said "We never said that NCP leaders are saints. But we need their support to fight against BJP. Shivaji has taught That if you have to fight the Mughals, then you have to become an ally of Adil Shah and Qutub Shah. ''

Shetty is now Pawar's associate. He furthers his point by saying, "We do not expect that if the NCP and Congress government is formed then Ram Rajya will come but at least we will get freedom that we can give our feelings Be able to express.

BJP MP from Pune and former Kabina minister Girish Bapat says that the alliance of Shiv Sena and BJP will definitely happen. However, he also said that he hoped that the Shiv Sena would demand fair seats.

The alliance between the two saffron parties was broken before the 2014 assembly elections over seat sharing. But this time it has not happened.

Intense negotiations are going on between the BJP and Shiv Sena on the seat sharing. The BJP had publicly assured the Shiv Sena to give half of the total seats, but the BJP has backed it after a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections.