Fissures in Mahayuti? Ajit Pawar shares stage with ex-minister Nawab Malik

Former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Monday shared the dais with Nationalist Congress Party leader and deputy CM Ajit Pawar in Mumbai, a development that can potentially roil ally Bharatiya Janata Party given Devendra Fadnavis' strident opposition to taking the "tainted' leader aboard the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

IMAGE: Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar along with Maharashtra ex-minister Nawab Malik (right) and NCP leader Praful Patel (second from right) during the "Jan Samman" yatra event held in Anushakti Nagar constituency in Mumbai, August 18, 2024. Photograph: Courtesy Nawab Malik on X

Malik, a former loyalist of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, is an accused in a money laundering case. He is currently out on interim bail on medical grounds.

At the "Jan Samman" yatra event held in Anushakti Nagar constituency of Malik in Mumbai, Ajit Pawar appointed Malik's daughter, Sana Nawab Malik, as a spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party.

Notably, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis had written to Ajit Pawar last year after he joined the Mahayuti government against any plan to induct Malik, a former minister, in the Mahayuti alliance.

"I have made my stand already clear," Fadnavis said tersely on Monday when asked to comment on Malik sharing the stage with Ajit Pawar.

The Enforcement Directorate's case against Malik is based on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency against Dawood Ibrahim, a designated global terrorist and a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, and his associates under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Malik used to criticise the BJP-led Central government and the then opposition leader in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, when he was a cabinet minister in the erstwhile MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

Malik was arrested in February 2022. He was granted interim bail in August 2023 which was extended from time to time. The bail conditions refrain Malik from making public statements.

Malik was allotted a seat on the treasury benches during the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature last December.

Though he was seated elsewhere, deputy CM Fadnavis had dashed a strong-worded letter to his counterpart in the state government, Ajit Pawar.

In an open letter to Ajit Pawar, who joined the government in July 2023, Fadnavis voiced BJP's opposition to the possible induction of Malik in the grand alliance considering the serious allegations against him.

Fadnavis had stated that Malik had the right to attend the assembly as an MLA and that the BJP didn't harbour any personal animosity or grudge against him.

"Considering the kind of allegations he (Malik) is facing, we are of the opinion that it would not be appropriate to induct him in the Mahayuti. Malik was out only on medical bail (and not regular bail)," Fadnavis had stated.

Notably, ex-Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau Sameer Wankhede had filed a defamation complaint against Malik in 2022, leading to registration of a case, police had said.

Malik had alleged that Wankhede was born as Muslim who submitted a fake caste certificate to get a government job.

Addressing the NCP event, Ajit Pawar said appointing Sana Malik as the party's spokesperson is consistent with his party's commitment to providing opportunities to women and youth.

"Sana is proficient in both Hindi and English, and we expect her to become fluent in Marathi," Pawar added.

Nawab Malik and Sana Malik recently shared videos on their social profiles on X depicting the preparations for Ajit Pawar's rally in the Anushakti Nagar constituency.

The perceived bonhomie between Ajit Pawar and Malik ahead of the state assembly elections comes amid the opposition's claim about a "growing rift" in the Mahayuti allies- Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP.

A day earlier, a group of BJP workers waved black flags at Ajit Pawar's convoy in Junnar city, with a saffron party functionary claiming that the BJP was not invited for an official meeting organised on tourism development.