NCP crisis: Family drama over power sharing in a party is not a new thing in Indian politics. In recent times, family-based political parties have witnessed vicious infighting between relatives. Often, when a family member, especially a younger member, seeks a larger stake in the party, it faces the wrath of the elders and ends up with expulsion from the party. Subsequently, several prominent political families faced rebellions led by ambitious relatives. Interestingly, the ‘chacha’ and ‘bhatija’ (uncle and nephew) often resort to dramatic tussles for control of the party. The latest case has been seen in the National Congress Party (NCP) of Maharashtra, in which uncle Sharad Pawar and nephew Ajit Pawar have waged a war against each other to control the party.
However, this is not an ideal situation in a democratic set up. Although experts say that challenging political dynasties is a good thing for democracy. Such tussle will strengthen ‘democracy’.
Here are 5 incidents when ‘chacha-bhatija’ found themselves locked in ugly fights
- Pawar: NCP chief Sharad Pawar was defeated by nephew Ajit Pawar after the junior Pawar rebelled against him. Ajit surprised everyone by joining the NDA government on 2 July. He took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, triggering a rebellion within the party. Taking around 35 MLAs with him, Ajit defeated his uncle. No wonder, if he gets control of the party in line with Shiv Sena after a long overdue legal battle.
- Thackeray: The second most famous ‘uncle-nephew’ fight was also seen in Maharashtra. When Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray was alive, his nephew Raj Thackeray considered himself the successor of his uncle. However, his dream could not survive for long as Balasaheb showed strong favor towards his son Uddhav Thackeray. After being sidelined by his uncle in the Shiv Sena, Raj resigned from the party in November 2005 and founded his own party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in 2006.
Raj Thackeray formed his party in 2006 - Yadavas: Samajwadi Party (SP) leader- Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav were in a tussle over power-sharing in the party, which ended with Shivpal being ousted from the party. In December 2016, when Akhilesh was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, he sacked his uncle – a senior minister in his cabinet. However, Akhilesh’s father Mulayam Singh Yadav defended his brother. A few days later, angry with Akhilesh’s decision, Mulayam expelled him from the party. The matter went up to the Election Commission and later the nephew won the battle. Later, Shivpal formed his own party, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party – Lohia (PSPL). Interestingly, as the saying goes, all is well that ends well, uncle and nephew united and in 2022, Shivpal merged his party with SP.
In 2022, Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav ended their estrangement. - Paswan: Bihar’s popular Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan and his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras engaged in a similar ugly fight over controlling Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) after the death of senior Paswan in 2020. The party was split into two- Lok Janshakti Party ( Ram Vilas)- led by Chirag and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party headed by Paras.
- Chautala: Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s family also faced similar trouble, with uncle Abhay Chautala and nephew Dushyant Chautala locked in a power sharing row in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The uncle-nephew fight ended with a split in the party. Dushyant formed a new party- Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) in 2018. Now, JJP is part of the NDA government and nephew Dushyant is the Deputy CM of Haryana.
Also Read – Sharad Pawar Was Removed As NCP Chief On June 30, Claims Ajit Pawar’s Camp