SHARAD Pawar saved P.V. Narasimha Rao when he faced the onslaught of party rebels on the plea of the oneman-one-post principle in Surajkund in March 1993. But this time around, he was among the first to tell Rao to step down as CPP leader. Clearly, Pawar knows how far he should identify with a leader, and is able to dump him without much reluctance the moment he outlives his utility.
Rao obviously did not make Pawar what he is today. But the two worked in tandem till December 1994 against a common foe, Arjun Singh. In fact, the rift developed after Singh quit the cabinet and subsequently the party. Rao would often tell the Maratha leader that he was the natural choice for the party president's post after the 1996 elections as he did not intend to continue holding two posts. Elections over, Rao never implemented his promise.
Unlike Rao, Sitaram Kesri realised that it was in his interest to promote leaders with an independent following. Pawar does not have a dearth of detractors but he is also something of a leader in the making. By being appointed the party's floor leader in Lok Sabha, his claim for Congress leadership has got legitimacy for the first time.
But this has been at the cost of his reputation. His colleagues and followers till about a week ago suddenly turned their ire on him, saying he was "difficult to rely on". "By not contesting for the CPP post, Pawar disappointed us," says MP Datta Meghe, one of his close associates.
Like in June 1991, in the past fortnight Pawar maintained a meaningful silence about his candidature for the CPP post. But the MPs actively lobbying for him throughout maintained that Pawar was very much in the race. But unlike what happened in 1991, Kesri did not question his credentials of party loyalty. In 1991, S.B. Chavan and Rao followers from Maharash-tra had questioned Pawar's loyalty on the ground that he had quit the Congress in 1978 only to rejoin in 1986.
Headquartered in fellow MP Praful Patel's 20, Gurudwara Rakabganj house, Pawar shuttled among Rao, Kesri and his friend Chandra Shekhar's residences for guidance and 'blessings'. He would also attend the rebels' meeting, giving an impression that he was with them and would not mind contesting the election if that promoted inner party democracy. But his tone and tenor changed as the new year dawned. At the CWC meeting, Pawar denied that he was in the fray, but asserted an MP's right to contest elections. However, at the end he was party to the consensus formula.
In fact, Kesri had assured him on the morning of January 1 itself that he would be the leader in the Lok Sabha. "That is a million-dollar question," quipped Congress spokesperson V.N. Gadgil when asked about the deal with Pawar. "Everything would be known by January 3." Events did not prove him wrong.
Although Pawar was defence minister for nearly two years, it is only his appointment as floor leader in Lok Sabha that has launched him in national politics sans any effective resistance.
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