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By Mahesh Vijapurkar
Sushil Kumar Shinde being felicitated after being elected chief of the Maharashtra Congress Legislature Party in Mumbai on Thursday. Also seen are the outgoing Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh (right), and the Pradesh Congress chief, Govindrao Adik. — Photo: Vivek Bendre
Though, in typical Congress fashion, Mr. Shinde was elected "unanimously'' with Mr. Deshmukh himself proposing his name after putting up a stiff fight the whole of Wednesday to retain his office, no explanation was forthcoming on why Mr. Deshmukh was sacked in the first place. The MPCC chief, Govindrao Adik, Mr. Deshmukh's bitter rival, seconded Mr. Shinde's name, while praising the outgoing Chief Minister "for doing his best." The only word on Mr. Deshmukh's departure came from Pranab Mukherjee, one of the central observers, who told the MLAs that it was not due to "non-performance" but because "a change was required.'' Some disgruntled MLAs were later heard saying, "first, an injustice was done to Mr. Deshmukh. Now, we are not even told why he was replaced.'' Mr. Deshmukh did not bow out easily. He put up a stiff resistance, claiming that the majority in the Assembly was in his favour. He cited the wavering nature of support of the Independents and the smaller parties to buttress his point. Not that Mr. Deshmukh had any quarrel with Mr. Shinde's elevation — he did not want to leave just because a few detractors had "persuaded" the high command to act.
Seasoned politician
The 63-year-old Mr. Shinde is a seasoned politician and administrator and has held several portfolios in the Maharashtra Cabinet. Born in a poor family, he started off as a court peon, joined police, studied law and was spotted by Sharad Pawar who initiated him into politics. He went on to hold a Ministry during his first stint as MLA in 1974. Last year, he contested the Vice-Presidential election as the combined opposition candidate against Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Mr. Shinde's election came through only after the Nationalist Congress Party expressed its willingness to go along with the Congress' choice. To get the concurrence, the three observers from Delhi — Mr. Mukherjee, Vyalar Ravi and Ghulam Nabi Azad — met the NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister, Chhagan Bhujbal, at his residence. The other independents, and smaller parties, gave their letters of support to a "Congress-led Government,'' unlike in the past, when they expressed support to Mr. Deshmukh as an individual. Mr. Shinde had to cross another hurdle. Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, NCP Minister, had said "anyone but Mr. Shinde'' was acceptable and threatened to make his election to the Assembly in the mandatory six months "impossible.'' Mr. Shinde called on his sore rival, powerful in his domain of Solapur, and pacified him in a one-on-one meeting. Earlier, a resolution was moved saying that Mr. Deshmukh was resigning in favour of Mr. Shinde and that the CLP would like to have the high command announce the name of his successor. And when Mr. Shinde's name was formally announced, Mr. Deshmukh said the two had been the "best of friends for long.'' If Mr. Shinde, long-time aspirant for the top job, was brought in to improve the Congress chances at the elections in October 2004, the difficulty of the assignment was not lost on him. Upon election as the CLP chief, he said, "we have only 16 to 17 months left'' before the elections to the Assembly. But before that, he would have to get elected in a by-election; Anandrao Deokate, Minister in the outgoing Government, offered his seat, South Solapur. Observers said Mr. Shinde's election might have a limited impact. "It can at best be a tokenism'' as he did not have a big "base among Dalits." Some Congressmen claimed that there could be a negative impact on the Maratha enthusiasm.
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