Pawar skips NCP-Cong rally

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday skipped a joint electoral rally with Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in north-central Mumbai, leaving local Congress leaders surprised and fuming.

“All was going very well between the two parties as for the first time, there was proper coordination. Barring a few incidents of inaction by a few leaders and members from both parties, all were working in unity during the campaigning. More important, the proper coordination between Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Pawar had boosted the morale of members of both the parties,” a surprised veteran Congress leader told Business Standard on the condition of anonymity.

NCP minister Jayant Patil could only issue a weak clarification, that Pawar could not attend due to a snag in his helicopter.

Before the BKC rally, Pawar had addressed two rallies in Khed (Ratnagiri district) and Mahad (Raigad district) for NCP nominee for Raigad, Sunil Tatkare.

The Congress and NCP leaders are hoping Pawar's absence would not divide the two parties and thereby adversely impact the electoral prospects of candidates in the six constituencies in Greater Mumbai. The polling for these seats is slated for Thursday.

This is not the first time Pawar has distanced himself from Rahul. Recently, Pawar had said Rahul had to prove his mettle before taking a bigger role after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Adding Rahul Gandhi should have joined the Manmohan Singh government, as it would have been beneficial to him.

Further, Pawar had said he could not work with Rahul because there was a huge generation gap between them. He had, however, clarified he would always stand with the Congress and like-minded parties.