Mid-term poll spectre saves Vilasrao the axe

In what has come as a temporary relief for Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has postponed...

In what has come as a temporary relief for Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has postponed any immediate decision regarding “change of guard” in the state. According to highly placed sources, the Congress high command postponed the matter considering the possibility of mid-term polls at the Centre.

Deshmukh’s fate will be decided some time next month after the Congress President takes a “considered view” of the pros and cons of his removal in the event of mid-term polls, said sources.

Sources also said the party high command was “in favour of a change of guard” in Maharashtra, given the series of controversies surrounding the Deshmukh regime, but she did not want to “destabilise” anything just before the mid-term polls.

Nevertheless, the writing on the wall was clear for Deshmukh after the recent AICC reshuffle. AICC General Secretary in charge of Maharashtra Margaret Alva, who recommended Deshmukh’s removal in a report to the party President, and state Congress chief Prabha Rau, known as a Deshmukh-baiter, retained their existing portfolios.

Deshmukh’s detractors continued to lobby with the party’s top brass, arguing that he be changed immediately because Dalits, Muslims and the farming community were being alienated from the party.

The Chief Minister faced flak for his failure to ensure justice in the infamous Khairlanji murder case, involving the killing of Dalits. His detractors, led by state Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, who camped in Delhi for several days early this month, told party leaders that Dalits were moving away from the Congress at a time when the BSP was trying to reach out to them.

Non-implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report into the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and alleged irregularities in the sale of Waqf Board properties in Aurangabad and Mumbai were cited in support of the claim that there was “strong resentment” among Muslims against Deshmukh.

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The Chief Minister’s controversial remark, wherein he allegedly called Vidarbha farmers “dishonest”, has not helped his cause either. It came shortly after he got a reprieve from the Congress President on the issue of the Srikrishna Commission report. Sonia had asked him to ensure speedy implementation of the report and also gave him a green signal for Cabinet expansion. Deshmukh was called back to New Delhi again after his controversial remarks on Vidarbha farmers and cautioned by the party high command that it could ruin the party’s standing among farmers.

According to party sources, Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was in the forefront of the long queue of aspiring Deshmukh successors. He counted on his credentials as a Dalit leader and his familiarity with the job. Shinde had been replaced by Deshmukh as Chief Minister in November 2004.