Congressmen were unimpressed and they were right. Soon, Pawar quietly tied up with the BJP-Shiv Sena to support outgoing governor P.C. Alexander’s candidature to the Rajya Sabha. This has created more bad blood between the Congress and the NCP, partners in a shaky coalition in Maharashtra.
Given Pawar’s history of stabbing in the back, the Congress has always been suspicious of his intentions: splitting the Democratic Front and tying up with the saffron Opposition. The NCP, meanwhile, maintains that it was forced to back Alexander because the Congress shot down three of its nominees to the Rajya Sabha. The Congress, on the other hand, says Pawar was involved in backroom manoeuvres with BJP spin doctor Pramod Mahajan, right from the start, in order to snub the Congress. By the end of this drama, Pawar’s word has come to mean even less to the Congress.
