According to NCP sources, one of the reasons why the party is unhappy with the alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra is Mr Chavan. State NCP leaders have complained to their high command that Mr Chavan is stonewalling any proposal that he feels could invite controversy. NCP leaders are confident that Mr Chavan will be replaced within a month.
However, the Congress leadership has dismissed any possibility of Mr Chavan’s ouster. “We also want Ajit Pawar to be removed from the DCM’s post. Will NCP accept that? Similarly, the Congress high command will not take any internal party decision as per the NCP’s wishes,” an AICC member said, adding, “Mr Chavan has been working as per the brief given to him by the high command. He was sent to Maharashtra in a peculiar situation. He was chosen by the high command as Maharashtra CM because they thought he could change the public perception about the government being corrupt. Bringing transparency in the government was the priority set for him by the high command and he is doing exactly that.”
The NCP has also alleged that there is lack of coordination between the Congress and the NCP at the state level. Mr Praful Patel said there is a need to set up a coordination committee comprising representatives of both parties. However, the Congress has denied the allegations. State Congress chief Manikrao Thakre said, “I am surprised that they should raise such an issue. NCP has so far not asked for a coordination committee meeting to be convened to discuss any issue.”
The Maharashtra CM has also said coordination at the state level is good. Speaking to the media on Friday night, the CM said, “It is not true that there is any discord in the Congress and NCP,” adding, “If there are any specific issues, we will discuss them. We have taken important policy decisions, such as the housing bill that was passed in
the state Assembly a couple of days ago.”
Senior state NCP leaders, including Mr Ajit Pawar, state NCP chief Madhukar Pichad, home minister R.R. Patil and others, met Mr Sharad Pawar at his residence in Mumbai on Saturday morning. While asserting that the NCP is in the UPA and will continue to be part of it, Mr Patel also lamented that his party’s views were not considered in the alliance. “The functioning of the government has not been according to our expectations,” he said, adding that even the state leadership was not happy with the Congress and was complaining about lack of coordination.
The NCP has other axes to grind too. For instance, it is unhappy with Mr Chavan’s style of functioning and wants the Congress leadership to replace him. According to sources, the NCP has told the Congress leadership in no uncertain terms that if Mr Chavan continues to remain at the helm, then not just the Congress but even the NCP will face a drubbing in the Assembly polls in 2014, which it is not prepared to accept.
Regarding Mr Sharad Pawar not getting due respect in the UPA, a NCP leader pointed out an incident that occurred Wednesday: “When Mr Ansari filed his papers, Mr Sharad Pawar was present at the venue. But despite being a long-term ally of the Congress and a senior leader in the UPA, he was not even offered a chair to sit. The first row was occupied by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi, and in the second row there were other Congress leaders. None of them offered him a chair.”
In fact it was NC leader Farooq Abdullah, standing with Mr Sharad Pawar, who asked officials to bring two chairs. What has irked the NCP is that in the front row, flanking the Prime Minister on the left, was Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav who is neither an ally of the Congress in UP nor a part of the UPA. On his left was RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav who is also not part of the UPA.
“We are meeting again on Monday to decide on a further course of action. What view our party ultimately takes will be communicated on Monday,” Mr Praful Patel said.
Defence minister A.K. Antony on Saturday said, “There are no senior or junior Cabinet ministers, everybody is equal (in the Cabinet).” He refused to make any political comment at a defence function when asked about his No. 2 status in the Cabinet after senior leader Pranab Mukherjee’s exit from the government.