The other CM Chavan

The Adarsh housing scandal may have catapulted Prithviraj Chavan to the Chief Ministers post in Maharashtra,but it will not be wrong to say that Union Minister Chavans heart has been set on the top job in the state for quite some time now. In fact,Prithviraj Chavans name did figure in the frontrunners list on the last two occasions that the Congress had to choose the CLP leader in Maharashtra,but it is only this time that he has ended up as the chosen one.Born on March 17,1946 at Indore,Madhya Pradesh,its indeed a meteoric rise for Chavan,especially in a party that has its own way of retaining aspiring individuals at the same level for years,before rewarding him/ her with an elevation. About two decades ago,Chavan,then in his forties,came to Delhi as a newly-elected MP and found himself a complete stranger in the corridors of power. But he was soon able to endear himself with the partys senior leadership by his sheer capacity for work and intellect. Working his way in Parliament,he realised that there were not many who really understood technical issues,and so early on,he began taking up complex issues such as patents and intellectual property rights. Of course,his professional education and background as an engineer helped he is an alumnus of BITS,Pilani and the University of California,Berkeley. It was this ability to grasp complex subjects that came in handy in his elevation as a minister,handling important subjects including the nuclear liability Bill. Chavan proved to be the right choice as one of the key political negotiators to engage with the Opposition BJP as well as the US on the nuclear Bill. His non-threatening approach and apologetic demeanour helped him win over opponents. Kya Boss,you are giving me four hours of extra work, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley is said to have jovially remarked when Chavan rushed to him during the delicate negotiations,when matters got stuck on one of the amendments to the nuclear Bill. Working hard to achieve consensus on the nuclear Bill,he also visited the US to hold closed discussions with the US state department officials,spending hours everyday in the run-up to the passage of the Bill being briefed by liability experts and Department of Atomic Energy officials,before briefing the senior leadership,including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Opposition leaders. Chavans high-profile background,though,has been cited as a disadvantage by some. Having spent a number of years in the US,where he studied and also worked in the computer sector,Chavans Marathi is not as good as it probably should be. His inability to converse in chaste Marathi was something that was brought up by Sharad Pawar then in the Congress when Rajiv Gandhi chose Chavan for the Karad seat,sowing the seed of mistrust between the two. Pawar tried to sabotage Chavans nomination in 1991 but the internal intrigues within the Congress helped when Rajiv,who gave him a midnight call just a day before nominations were to end,asked Chavan to file his papers.Since then,Chavan has lived up to his loyalist tag. As secretary in the Congress Parliamentary Party CPP,he refused to side with Pawar in 1996 when the latter attempted to capture the parliamentary unit against Sitaram Kesari. Chavan was not against Pawar then,but he made it clear that he would not support someone who did not have the backing of the Nehru-Gandhi family. That move earned Chavan the enmity of Pawar,who did not leave any occasion to trouble the former in the coming years. The NCP was instrumental in ensuring Chavans defeat in the 2001 Lok Sabha elections. But Chavan came back to Parliament,through the Rajya Sabha,in 2002.In fact,Chavans sharp rise in the Congress hierarchy has happened in the last three or four years,when his interaction with the Congress leadership both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul increased significantly. He accompanied the two to Beijing in October 2007,when he got the opportunity to share personal moments with them notwithstanding the hectic schedule. He was able to build on the relationship further when he was chosen as a member of the Congresss Future Challenges and Opportunities think-tank which Rahul Gandhi set up.Chavans personal integrity,his ability to maintain a low profile,progressive views and his pleasing personality have endeared him to the Nehru-Gandhi family. In the last two years,he has been given prestigious assignments political charge of states such as Gujarat,Haryana and Jammu amp; Kashmir,apart from heading key ministries like the Department of Personnel which has CBI under its charge.His equation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been equally comfortable. Chavan has been able to lift the stature of the portfolio that he was holding Minister of State in the PMO and party leaders feel it will be a tough task for Singh to find a suitable replacement. The flip side of Chavans personality,though,is his inability to manage time something which he will have to work hard on as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He is known to reach meetings late and,on occasions,has even kept the senior leadership waiting. During her presidential campaign,Pratibha Patil was kept waiting in a helicopter for over 10 minutes by Chavan,who had been assigned by the party leadership to be her liaison agent. Worse,he even forgot her written speech that she was to read out when he reached the helicopter. His aides complain that he even tries to do the secretarial tasks himself,probably borne out of his long years in the US. While lunching at a restaurant recently,he suddenly fished out his cellphone and began dialling junior ministers to ask them if they were available to accompany the Vice-President on a foreign visit. As Minister of State in the PMO one of his tasks is to clear foreign visits of ministers and MPs.

Few know that Chavan hoists the tricolor every Independence Day at his residence and distributes sweets and gifts to his personal staff. On principle,he refuses to take his family along on official trips abroad and doesnt allow them to use the official vehicle.

A self-confessed foodie,Chavan loves various cuisine but gorges on non-vegetarian continental food. He orders regularly from the Subway outlet in Khan Market,with his favourite being a good Chicken Teriyaki sandwich. Thankfully,Mumbai too has Subway.

But Chavan will miss out on one thing when he shifts base to Mumbai his daily game of badminton with 84-year-old Ram Jethmalani at the latters house in Lutyens Delhi.