Pawar's return from Pune with definite plans for a national party to be launched in the next fortnight allowed many of his supporters to come out of the shadows and several fence-sitters to make their decision. There will be a few additions to the numbers as a handful of core Pawar supporters could not be informed of the meeting. ``From tomorrow, you will see more people coming out in support everyday,'' Pawar claimed later in the evening.

The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) is still unwilling to speak numbers butappeared to have launched a damage-limitation exercise. Madhavrao Scindia, AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, flew down today to take stock of the situation. ``I can say that 95 per cent of the Congress workers are with the party,'' he said. Pressed to give a measure of support, Scindia remarked, ``Prataprao Bhosale is the PCC president; not the accountant-general.'' However, it is learned that 11 MLAs and six MLCs were present at his meeting at the party headquarters, Tilak Bhavan.

Party leaders' claims of the last week that ``a majority of legislators and MPs will remain with us'' did not seem to bear out as Congressmen finally began to decide their political future. Madhavrao Patil, Nashik MP, resigned from the primary membership of the party followed by a spate of resignations from Ahmednagar district. Presidents of the Youth Congress, Women's Congress, Backward Castes cell as well as all seven Congress corporators in the Ahmednagar municipal corporation resigned from the partytoday.

With more than one-third legislators in both houses of the state legislature on Pawar's side, their change-over will not attract provisions of the anti-defection law. The effort now is to cross the half-way mark so that Pawar's pointmen, Chhagan Bhujbal in the legislative council and Madhukar Pichad in the assembly, do not lose their status as Leaders of the Opposition. While the Pawar group has the requisite numbers in the council -- with unequivocal support from four Independents -- it still needs a handful more in the assembly.

The legislature party meeting will be convened in the next week or so; the split will be formalised then. ``There are still some fence-sitters, MLAs who would like to be with us but fear some adverse reaction from their concerned MPs who have not declared support for Saheb,'' said a prominent leader in the Pawar group.

Surprisingly, the PCC is dragging its feet over taking action against partymen, MLAs and MLCs who have openly associated with or declared support forPawar during the last few days. Bhujbal, for instance, has been holding court for Pawar at his official residence from the moment Pawar was expelled from the party. Scindia's presence is expected to move the party wheels in that direction. ``I will be discussing the issue of anti-party activities also; there will be some decisions,'' Scindia said.