Maratha lobby in NCP calls the shots

MUMBAI: With the elections nearing, NCP chief Sharad Pawar did not want to risk alienating Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, the power sugar baron and senior Maratha leader from Solapur, and decided to make him the deputy CM.
But in a shrewd move, he deprived him of the home portfolio and entrusted it to his trusted supporter. Mr Patil’s rural development portfolio has been given to Mr Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar.
Following Thursday’s developments, the Maratha lobby has become more powerful within the NCP.Apart from Mr Pawar, the latest cabinet entrants also belong to this caste.
With western Maharashtra getting so much political weightage, people in the backward regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada are certain to feel alienated from the DF ministry, political observers said.
Meanwhile, Mr Pawar denied that the NCP had submitted an ultimatum to the Congress to take a decision on a pre-poll alliance before December 31.
“In fact, preliminary talks have begun with the CM. Mr Shinde wants to consult the Congress high command before taking a final decision. But we had not issued any ultimatum to the Congress,’’ Mr Pawar told newspersons.
Asked if he would stop raking up the issue of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin, Mr Pawar said his primary task was to have an understanding with all secular parties.
He noted that the BJP had kept aside its temple agenda in deference to the views of its allies in the NDA. With Mr Pawar agreeing to mothball the foreigner issue, the prospects of a Congress-NCP alliance have improved.