The change of guard in Maharashtra has resulted in an interesting mix at the top. While Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is soft spoken,gentle and calm,his deputy Ajit Pawar is normally on a short fuse and often rude. Chavan has never been in state politics. His election to the Lok Sabha thrice and his current tenure in the Rajya Sabha has made him more of an outsider while Pawar is rooted in rural Maharashtra (read western Maharashtra). The officials and leaders who have interacted with the CM say he is tech-savvy he prefers to have information on his computer screen and more of a bureaucrat than a politician. Is it online? is supposed to be his refrain. This,however,does not hold good in the case of his deputy who is known for his aggressive manner. While Chavan was away in Delhi to finalise the list of Congress ministers,Pawar chose to call a meeting of officials to review law and order and the damage to crops due to unseasonal rain. On his return,Chavan had a separate meeting on the same issues. Also,Pawar wanted one more seat for the NCP in the council of ministers,but Chavan rejected the demand. So expect some fireworks in the days to come at the top. When CM tastes coalition dharma Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan may have promised to provide a clean and efficient government,but it appears that either his hands are tied,or he is at sea. The new council of ministers is an old wine in a new bottle with insignificant changes like stripping Narayan Rane of the revenue portfolio following his alleged links in some questionable land deals. The list of ministers drawn up by him was changed many times. It could be compulsions arising out of various warring lobbies at work in the Congress,or compulsions of coalition politics given an ally like the NCP. But Chavan has an uphill task ahead. Rane,the CM hopeful,lying low for now Meanwhile,Narayan Rane,a chief ministerial aspirant,seems to have decided to lie low. He is gradually transforming himself into a sophisticated Congressman from being a Shiv Sena rabble-rouser. He has been included in Chavans team despite campaigns against him by Sena leaders to portray him as a tainted minister. Rane who had installed CCTV cameras in his office,changed his sitting direction and suspended crystal balls has now thrown his weight behind Chavan. It was Rane only who had thrown tantrums when Ashok Chavan was made CM after Vilasrao Deshmukhs exit following 26 He had,then,questioned the abilities of Ashok Chavan in handling the office. For MLC seat,Sena with Independent,BJP sulks ALLS not well in the saffron camp. For the MLC seat from Jalgaon local self-governing bodies,the BJP has fielded leader of the Opposition Eknath Khadses son Nikhil,but the local Sena cadre has thrown its weight behind Independent Manish Jain,son of NCP Rajya Sabha MP Ishwarlal Jain. The reason for the unusual polarisation in favour of Manish is that Jalgaon strongman and currently Sena MLA Sureshdada Jain is favouring him,and the Sena leadership is helpless. A fuming Khadse has said the BJP will retaliate during the next elections to the Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls.
