Is Varun Gandhi headed to NCP?

New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule on Tuesday claimed that there will be two major political blasts or earthquakes in the country in the next 15 days - one in Delhi and the other in Maharashtra.

Her remarks have generated a lot of curiosity among political circles and the media.

Many NCP leaders appeared visibly clueless about her claim that was made in the context of her cousin Ajit Pawar along with 40 legislators defecting from the party to form his own outfit and subsequently support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the government formation in Maharashtra.

At present, the BJP is a junior partner in the ruling coalition, led by Eknath Shinde's faction of the Shiv Sena.

Ever since the BJP's humiliating defeat from Kasba Peth, considered its bastion for decades now, the talk of Shinde being a liability for the saffron party has gained momentum.

Soon after that by-poll, the BJP re-opened its communication channel with Ajit Pawar. The two sides have held many meetings so far.

The first indication that Ajit Pawar might once again align with the BJP came when he defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the degree issue, insisting that the people of the country voted for him for his charm and charisma and not for his educational qualification. He also defended the BJP on the Adani issue.

Ajit Pawar had earlier in 2019 created ripples in Maharashtra's political history when he took oath as the deputy chief minister with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister when NCP stalwart Sharad Pawar was busy in stitching an alliance between his party, Congress and the Shiv Sena.

However, the coup failed as Ajit Pawar could not keep his flock together. Fadnavis had to resign to pave the way for Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray to take oath as the next chief minister.

But the BJP is caught in a catch-22 situation. While it is keen to dump Shinde who is more of a liability, the BJP leadership apprehends that the move might show the party in a bad light as no other leader will ever trust it and take such a huge step in future.

That said, all eyes are on Maharashtra after Sule's claim of a political blast in the state in the next 15 days.

As far as her similar claim about Delhi is concerned, it is widely speculated that she might be referring to the possible defection of BJP leader and Gandhi scion Varun Gandhi to the NCP.

According to well-placed sources, the Pilibhit Lok Sabha member has had a few rounds of talks with the NCP leadership, including a detailed one with Sharad Pawar.

Varun Gandhi has had a love-hate relationship with the BJP in the past, particularly after his mother Maneka Gandhi was dropped from the Union Council of Ministers. He was apparently hobnobbing with the Congress but eventually decided to stay put after the BJP fielded him from Pilibhit.

He then opened a fresh front against his party just ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in March last year.

However, he went into a silent mode after the BJP's victory in the country's politically important state.

He is convinced that the BJP leadership will deny him a renomination this time and as such is exploring different options. But is the NCP an option and if Sule was hinting at his joining, only time will tell.