Pawar can’t survive without the Congress

Simantik Dowerah

It is an irony that the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, which is a breakaway of the Congress party, is now resorting to threats and non-cooperation for an ounce of respect. The question is how lethal is this threat. For all practical reasons, this threat has no killer instinct. NCP without Congress support is a non-entity. With a mere nine seats in Lok Sabha, the Congress has the option of ignoring Pawar's party. In Maharashtra, NCP has 62 MLAs. But the Congress has 82. Given its involvement in alleged scams, NCP has tough road ahead in the 2014 assembly and Lok Sabha polls. They are in talks with Shiv Sena for quite sometime. But Sena has its own yard to protect before playing protector. Whatever Pawar may believe, if NCP is to be reckoned with as a political force, it has to piggyback on the Congress. At least, till the time the big brother shrugs it off its shoulders.read less read more

Arun George

Always kept at an arms length in the UPA despite his political strength in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar knows that with each passing day his influence within the UPA can only decline. By keeping his options open, the veteran politician can look to a potential alliance with a third front consisting of regional leaders that could emerge by the next general elections. In Maharashtra, Pawar never shut the door to the Shiv Sena or the MNS and though he may not have committed to a partnership so far with them, it doesn’t mean it can be ruled out completely. Pawar is a political survivor and even if he breaks away from the Congress, he and his party will survive but with which alliance only time will tell.read less read more