Veteran Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar looks destined to play a bigger role in national politics in the coming years, bearing the primary responsibility of bringing the Opposition parties together to jointly fight the Narendra Modi government.

Pawar, who turned 80 on Saturday, is still active in politics, unlike 74-year-old Congress president Sonia Gandhi who is reluctant to carry on. Although both the NCP and Pawar himself have refuted reports suggesting a plan to make him UPA chairperson in place of Sonia, leaders cutting across party lines concede he is going to become the pivot on which Opposition politics would rest in the coming years.

Although a section of Congress leaders fiercely oppose the idea, many in the party believe it is wrong to presume that the responsibility of uniting the Opposition being given to Pawar meant a conflict with Rahul Gandhi on the leadership question.

These leaders insist that Rahul and Pawar have developed a mutual understanding and could make a great team with a perfect blend of experience and youth. “Both will have different roles to play,” a senior Congress leader told The Telegraph, arguing that Ahmed Patel’s death had necessitated such an experiment.

Pawar not only has strong personal rapport with regional leaders, but his capability of garnering resources and creating an axis with the corporate world can also never be overstated. While Sonia is still heading the UPA, her engagement with active politics has been restricted and may further shrink after the Congress elects a new president over the next few months.

Rahul, who is expected to return as Congress president, may like to spend his energies on strengthening the party and on public outreach rather than on behind-the-scenes political management.

The Shiv Sena, now an ally, is already been pushing for Pawar’s leadership. Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut, who supported the idea of Pawar becoming the UPA chairperson a few days ago, again said on Saturday: “We’ll be happy if Pawar sir becomes UPA chairman. But I’ve heard that he has personally refused it. We will support him if such a proposal comes to the fore officially. The Congress is weak now, so the Opposition needs to come together and strengthen the UPA.”

An editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Saturday hailed Pawar’s credentials and subtly criticised the Congress for not giving him his due so far.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said in Mumbai on Saturday: “Pawar saheb had last week said that he wanted the Opposition parties to come together. It is not important who will lead the front. That can be decided later. But, the Opposition needs to come together.”

Pawar had recently objected to former US President Barack Obama’s negative views about Rahul but publicly conceded that the Congress leader was inconsistent. But Rahul met Pawar after that and went to the President with him and other Opposition leaders to submit a memorandum on the farmers’ agitation, indicating that he didn’t take the “inconsistency” jibe as a personal attack.