Sarpotdar sulks, hopes Balasaheb will note

"In fact when the process of formation of the government at the Centre was in the initial stages, I had a prolonged meeting with Thackeray on Sena’s participation in the government. Then Thackeray had told me that Sena would not jointhe cabinet. One of the reasons given by him was that there were too many contenders from the party for a ministerial post – Balasaheb Vikhe Patil, Suresh Prabu and myself – and as such it would be better to drop the idea of joining the cabinet," Sarpotdar said.

Till the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, Sarpotdar said he was under the impression that Sena would not participate in the government. "On Thursday, I was stunned when Prabhu was sworn-in as a cabinet member. I feel that though I was the leader of the Shiv Sena parliamentary party, I was kept in the dark about the political developments within the party," he pointed out.

Sarpotdar, a hardcore Shiv Sainik, felt that rank outsiders were being given more importance in the organisation at the cost of honest party workers. "I have no grudge against Prabhu. I will extend all possible cooperation to him, but certainly, my contribution to the party is much greater compared to his. Not only I was jailed on several occasions while working for the party,but my entire family has gone through great tortured and humiliation in the past," he remarked.

Sarpotdar said history has proved that outsiders never strengthen an organisation established for a particular cause. They join the organisation for their personal gains and overnight change colours when their purpose is served. "Time and again, such people have ditched our party and we were unable take any action against them. However, we have not learnt any lessons," he said.

But, Sarpotdar has no plans either to quit the Lok Sabha or the party. "I feel that for a political worker like me, cabinet birth is a minor thing…I never worked with any expectations, but denial of such an opportunity cannot be ignored," he observed.

When asked if his name was not recommended in view of the likely strictures against him in the Sri Krishna Commission report, Sarpotdar said he was never called before the commission as a criminal. "I was called before the commission after I filed an affidavit before it. Since, I wassummoned, I was able to project the views of the Shiv Sena before the commission. Official records will confirm that no criminal case is pending against me in any court," he said. Sarpotdar had unsuccessfully contested municipal elections in 1968 soon after he joined Shiv Sena in 1966. Subsequently, he contested the corporation election in 1972 and then assembly election in 1978 and 1985. However, he lost all these. In the 1990 assembly elections, Sarpotdar entered the assembly and repeated his performance in the 1995 elections. An arch rival of Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, Sarpotdar quit the assembly to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 1996, when he wrested the seat from the Congress by a margin of over 90,000 elections. In the recent mid-term polls, he was re-elected, but with a lesser margin.