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This is an archive article published on June 25, 2022

In 1978, it was Sharad Pawar who had led a rebel group and toppled Maharashtra government, recalls former MLA

Sharad Pawar-led rebel group decided to part ways with the Vasantdada Patil government in 1978 after being ‘humiliated’ by then deputy chief minister, recalls then Maval MLA Krishnarao Bhegde

Sadiq Ali, Governor of Maharashtra, administers the oath of office to Sharad Pawar as Chief Minister in Bombay in 1978. (Express Archives)Sadiq Ali, Governor of Maharashtra, administers the oath of office to Sharad Pawar as Chief Minister in Bombay in 1978. (Express Archives)

Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde’s recent rebellion is reminiscent of a similar revolt in Maharashtra in 1978, then the first of its kind in the state’s political history. The rebel group then was led by none other than Sharad Pawar, who had succeeded in toppling the Vasantdada Patil government – formed after two splinter groups of Congress had joined hands – and becoming the youngest chief minister at the age of 38.

Then Maval MLA Krishnarao Bhegde, now 87, was part of the rebel group. Recalling the 1978 rebellion, Bhegde said it was the likes of Pawar, Govindrao Adik and Prataprao Bhosale who were in the forefront of the rebellion then. “Today, the split in the Shiv Sena seems to be on the Hindutva issue. Also, the rebel Shiv Sainiks are raising the issue of humiliating treatment by NCP…,” Bhegde said.

In 1978, Bhegde said, the principal reason why the rebels decided to part ways with the government was the “humiliating” treatment meted out to them. “Deputy chief minister Nashikrao Tirpude, who belonged to Congress (I), openly criticised chief minister Patil, Pawar and his mentor Yeshwantrao Chavan. Tirpude was saying things that didn’t go down well with the likes of Pawar and his close aides. Pawar was a minister in the Vasantdada Patil group,” said Bhegde.

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Bhegde said discontent against the government was brewing for three-four months. “The discussion regarding forming another group and joining hands with opposition parties like the Janata Party, Peasants and Workers Party, CPM went for nearly three to four months,” Bhegde recalled. “Then suddenly, when the monsoon session of the assembly was underway, Pawar on July 18, 1978, went to the governor and submitted a letter regarding his 38 MLAs forming a new group. He also submitted a letter regarding support of other parties and another letter regarding his election as the legislature party leader. The governor then invited Pawar to take over as the chief minister. Pawar took the oath of office even as the assembly session was underway,” said Bhegde.

During that period, Bhegde said, Pawar did not approach him but his close aides convinced him about the need to form a separate group and have “our own” government. “I don’t remember Pawar meeting me or other MLAs. We were addressed generally and not one-to-one. Pawar’s close associates kept in touch with us,” he said.

The Indian Express front page on July 18, 1978

After the Emergency was lifted in 1977, Congress had split into two parties, Bhegde said. “One party was headed by Indira Gandhi, called Congress (I), and another was headed by D Devraj Urs, which was known as Congress (Urs). Both contested elections separately. Pawar was part of Congress (Urs). However, after the 1978 assembly elections, both decided to join hands to keep Janata Party away from power,” he said.

Bhegde said the Pawar-led (Progressive Democratic Front or PuLod) coalition government did not last long. “It was dismissed by Indira Gandhi in 1980 after she returned to power. As per my information, she had asked Pawar to join the Congress. He refused and next day, his government was dismissed,” he said.

Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.   Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives. Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees. During Covid, over 50 doctors were  asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa. Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.     Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More


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