On Sunday, the NCP was hit by a political crisis after Ajit Pawar and several NCP MLAs joined hands with the ruling Shiv Sena (Shinde) and the BJP. The NCP is perilously close to being broken into two pieces if the NDA comes to power with a thumping majority in 2024.
A large section of voters see the latest development in Maharashtra as a Modi-Shah masterstroke. Many BJP supporters are unhappy with the "unprincipled" politics of the duo. Ajit Pawar has been described as heavily corrupt by the BJP. Now that the party has welcomed him, what happens to the criticism?
"Corrupt politicians are safe in the era of Modi. The Prime Minister threatens opposition politicians with ED and CBI inquiries only to make them surrender to his political ambitions. Once they join hands with the BJP, all cases are dropped eventually," angry voters are saying.
Netizens are asking if Modi will someday embrace Lalu Prasad Yadav, too. "Ajit Pawar has been co-opted. For the sake of power, the BJP might call Lalu a clean man in the future," a vocal social media user lamented.
