A Maha-Karnataka entente

With the recent row over the Hogenakkal project, the Congress has decided not to deploy any party leaders from Tamil Nadu in the Karnataka Assembly elections. But despite the boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra, leaders from the latter, including Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, have been asked to campaign among the Marathi-speaking people of Karnataka. In fact, the Maharashtra connection continues to be dominant in the Congress8217;s scheme of things, with former Maharashtra governor S M Krishna vying for a second stint as CM, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Prithviraj Chavan hailing from Maharashtra, and senior leader from Karnataka Margaret Alva being AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra. Even Vyalar Ravi, who played a key role in the ticket distribution for the Assembly elections, was in charge of Maharashtra in the not so distant past.