Cong releases Pawarnama, hopes for miracle in polls

Addressing a rally of youth party workers after releasing “Pawarnama,” a collection of newspaper articles highlighting Pawar’s restive political career over a span of last two decades, Bhosale said that there is more to it than what meets the eye regarding Pawar’s sudden revolt. The issue of Sonia Gandhi’s “foreign origin” had been made the main political issue by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray in the general elections last year. However, people had rejected the issue, so what is the reason for Pawar raising the issue all over again, he asked.

Pawar may have feared that he would be left nowhere as his name figures in the Srikrishna Commission report and this was why he must have raised the issue, Bhosale said.

Dwelling on the “sacrifice” of the Nehru-Gandhi family for the nation, Bhosale questioned the contribution of Pawar either during the freedom movement or later in the post-independence period. “The party had given Pawar everything. He had been made the leader of the opposition when he was not capable. He would have got more from the party. Pawar was never a leader, but only a dealer. He was never a winner. It is now Pawar’s last battle,” Bhosale remarked.

Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Kalmadi said not only political leaders but common members of Parliament had lost faith over Pawar’s policies and ideologies. Not a single MP has joined his party in the last three months. “Pawar will realise after the elections that you cannot fool all the people all the time. There will be a miracle in Maharashtra in the Assembly and Parliament elections. In Pune district, the Congress will win all the three Lok Sabha seats. For the Baramati assembly seat, Ajit Pawar will be defeated by a margin of ten to fifteen thousand votes,” he quipped. He said that the Congress has become much stronger in Pune after Pawar was removed from the party.

Among others who spoke on the occasion included MP Govindrao Adik, former MLA from Bhor Anantrao Thopte, managing trustee of `Kesari’ Deepak Tilak, MPCC office-bearer Ulhas Pawar and city Youth Congress president Sanjay Balgude.