Sonia balancing act: ex-CMs share poll duties

The move is also set to tell on coordination between the Congress and its likely ally,the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Deshmukh is against an alliance while Shinde is well disposed towards the NCP; this could reflect in the committees they head,lead to possible contradictions and leave the NCP with plenty of cause for worry.

Deshmukh has been airing his views against an alliance with the NCP since his ouster as Chief Minister following the Mumbai terror attacks. The NCP had decided to ask Deputy CM RR Patil to resign in the wake of the attacks,and Patil’s resignation had made Deshmukh’s continuance as CM untenable,though his ouster was also hastened by his trip to Taj with his son,an actor,and filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma.

While the NCP has since helped him get elected vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA),Deshmukh has been far from mollified. He has got vocal support from two other senior leaders,Union Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Vikhe Patil.

Shinde,however,enjoys good rapport with Pawar. Their relationship goes back to the late 1970s when Shinde resigned from the Congress to join the Progressive Democratic Front government in Maharashtra led by Pawar. Chief Minister Ashok Chavan,who had fallen out with his predecessor Deshmukh barely a fortnight after replacing him,and Deshmukh’s bete noire Narayan Rane also have good relations with NCP leaders.