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SHARAD PAWAR was denied the opportunity to change into Prime Minister of India twice in the 1990s by a “coterie” in the Congress, mentioned Praful Patel, NCP General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP, on Saturday. Later in the day, Patel claimed that the NCP chief’s “dream” to change into the PM of the nation might nonetheless be fulfilled.
“After Rajiv Gandhi’s unfortunate death during the Lok Sabha elections in 1991, the Congress was in a state of shock. There was a demand to make Pawar party president to handle the situation. However, the durbar coterie opposed the idea of a strong leader and hatched a plan to make P V Narasimha Rao as the party chief,” Patel wrote in an article revealed in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana on the event of Pawar’s 80th birthday.
Patel mentioned the recalcitrance of Rao in 1996 to make manner for Pawar led to him lacking out a shot on the prime publish once more in 1996.
“In 1996, the Congress won 145 seats. H D Deve Gowda, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav as well as Left leaders said they will support the Congress if Pawar is made PM, but Rao did not budge and the Congress was forced to support Deve Gowda from outside. “When Rao stepped down as the Congress president, he pushed the name of Sitaram Kesri as his successor to ensure that Pawar was not selected,” Patel wrote.
Patel in the signed article goes on to say that “coterie” inside the Congress labored to undermine robust leaders in the get together.
“Pawar strengthened his position as a front-rung leader in the Congress in a very little time. He was surely cut off for a prime ministerial role in 1991 and 1996, but the durbar (nepotism) politics of Delhi put a spanner. This was definitely a personal loss to him, but moreover for the party and the country,” Patel added.
Later in the day, whereas talking to the media after attending an occasion organised by the NCP to mark Pawar’s 80th birthday, Patel mentioned the “dream” of seeing Pawar on the helm of the nation might nonetheless be fulfilled.
“Pawar missed the opportunity to become a Prime Minister on two occasions. If the entire opposition stands united, then we can bring about a change… If the entire Maharashtra is standing behind him, then it is natural that a different picture can emerge and our unfinished dream can be fulfilled,” Patel mentioned.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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