Pawar's Maharashtra itch

If Sharad Pawar really wanted to pull out of the Union government, it would have been akin to shooting himself with his own gun. But this veteran politician is too astute to do that. A 'Pawar-ful' wishlist

If Sharad Pawar really wanted to pull out of the Union government, it would have been akin to shooting himself with his own gun. But this veteran politician is too astute to do that.

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However, apart from the obvious reason of not being valued enough by the Congress and wanting to be declared No 2 in the cabinet, Pawar is, clearly, holding out for more.

It is not just that he wants a ministry (home or defence) weightier than agriculture. He is fighting with his back to the wall in Maharashtra and wishes chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to be reined in.

Given the status of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief, it is ironical that he is the lone Congress ally (as also the only regional leader of note) who cannot sweep elections in his home state without support from the Congress.

He has been unable to win more than 10 seats in the Lok Sabha, with or without Congress support, since 1999, when he split the Congress a second time (earlier in 1978) to form the NCP.

So quite unlike the Trinamool Congress, the DMK or even the Samajwadi Party, the NCP needs the Congress more than the Congress needs Pawar.

He does have nuisance value, though, and he has his uses for the Congress. However, Chavan increasingly seems to have little use for or patience with the NCP.

Chavan has been systematically destroying all institutions (like the NCP's control over the apex state co-operative bank) that are important to Pawar and has been threatening to bring out a white paper on the failed irrigation projects - something which, observers believe, can expose the NCP's supposed role in various scams in this sector.

Moreover, he is strictly following his brief from his high command - to clean up the state and the party's reputation. So he sees no reason to defer to either Pawar or his nephew Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister and finance minister.

Union heavy industries minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said rather cautiously: "This could be just some pressure tactic to resolve some issues.'' Pawar in the end always has his way with the Congress. And they could all soon be left with some burnt fingers.