Eye on Maharashtra: BJP's friend-turned-foe: The importance of being Nana Patole

There can be no enemy worse than a friend-turned-foe and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole is proving just that to the BJP, as he had done to the Congress earlier. Patole was always a Congressman but perhaps never a fan of Sharad Pawar or the NCP. So, while he stayed with the Congress when Pawar split the party in 1999, he found himself edged out by the NCP when it formed an official alliance with the Congress in 2004.

As did the late Dr. Shrikant Jichkar who had nursed the Bhandara-Gondia constituency for years, before Pawar claimed it for his right-hand man Praful Patel that year. Jichkar dutifully moved to Ramtek– both he and Patel lost their seats.

But Patole was more combative and in the next election in 2009, he took on Patel as an independent with BJP support. That year Patel, as a UPA minister, pulled out all the stops to defeat Patole, who had no access to cars from any local taxi services, hardly any workers as no local resident dared defy a sitting minister, very little reportage in the local news media for the same reason and barely any publicity for no one would give him any advertising space, again for reasons that today bring a sense of dèja vu to those who watched Patole’s campaign closely.

He used only his private car and walked most of the villages in the hot summer sun making a deep contrast with the NCP’s corporate style, gaining much popularity, and gave that party quite a fright until the results came in– Patel won but with not a very impressive margin.

Patole lost but perhaps put an end to Patel’s electoral future from this Naxal-bordering constituency right then.

The BJP, impressed by his show, swiftly picked him up, and gave him an official ticket in 2014. The CongressNCP stood no chance under the Modi onslaught but if BJP thought Patole would be grateful, they were mistaken.

Patole was always an ambitious man and systematically aiming for the chief minister’s office. Under Modi, with Devendra Fadnavis in residence, he didn’t stand a chance and was among the first to spot the disenchantment of farmers with PM Modi. He quit to rejoin the Congress but could not recontest his own seat as, once again, the Congress was accommodating NCP.

But Pawar clearly recognised the political immorality of running Patel from a seat that Patole had won against him and resigned to facilitate another election. A little known but mutually acceptable candidate was found and Patole even helped this NCP man win the bye-election brought about by his own resignation. Impressed, Rahul Gandhi ran him against Nitin Gadkari in Nagpur in 2019 where he gave the latter, who had helped him in 2009 against Patel in Bhandara, a real fright. On his decided path, Patole contested the subsequent assembly election and chose to become Speaker. His party post is another milestone to his ultimate destination.

Patole’s maverick ways leave the loyalists in the Congress cold and disapproving. But however much their loyalty towards their party and High Command, they are all too much of gentlemen to ever be able to say things against Modi the way Patole does.

At a local election campaign last week, he said he could “beat up and abuse Modi” for he feared no one or nothing. Now here is Patole’s sophistry that gentlemen like Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan or Balasaheb Thorat are quite beyond emulating.

Patole’s context was clear–he said he owns no educational institutions, business or industry that other politicians do. So, he does not fear anybody (read ED etc).

The video went viral, as perhaps Patole had meant it to. For once the BJP went hysterical about his statement. Patole innocently said he was baffled. “Who said I was speaking about Narendra Modi? I was speaking about my local rival called Modi.”

But BJP leaders seem to think the cap fits and are already donning it with multiple complaints against Patole who has been by far very clever, making it difficult for police to take action against him until they have ascertained the identity of this local Modi. I tend to think they have been sent on a wild goose chase and I cannot help but laugh at how neatly Patole has insulated the government against criticism for duplicity – for hadn’t they arrested Union Minister Narayan Rane for expressing similar sentiments against CM Uddhav Thackeray?

The gentlemen in the state’s political parties and even the ruling coalition are not amused but I can’t help thinking some of Patole’s combativeness is something worth imbibing by many somnolent Congress-men.

(The writer is Consulting Editor, National Herald Mumbai)

(This article was first published in National Herald on Sunday)