Birthday omens

Known for holding grand parties to celebrate his birthday in the Capital, NCP chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar chose to go back to his roots in Baramati also his constituency this time to mark the occasion. The move set the tongues wagging in Delhi with political pundits reading in it the plans of the Maratha leader. That Pawar has smelt general elections and is trying to renew his mass base was one of the conclusion drawn from the move. His Baramati visit also meant that a follow-up meeting on the Vidharba package, to be chaired by the PM and scheduled on the same day as his birthday, had to be postponed.