For Pawar supporters in the Congress, the showdown between their leader and Congress president Sonia Gandhi was something which was waiting to happen. They foresee a new alignment of forces at the national level much before the next Lok Sabha elections, on the lines of the People's Democratic Front of the late '80s when Sharad Pawar had revolted against the then Congress president Indira Gandhi and formed the Congress-S.
Pawar supporters felt that if it does not happen now, it was bound to happen soon. "Pawar is not only the leader with a solid ground under his feet in Maharashtra, he is also the most powerful politician of the financial capital of India", one of his supporters said yesterday, hinting at Pawar's capacity to run a party on his own.
With Pawar as the central figure to be projected as the next Prime Minister, those who are expected to play a major role in the new alignment are former Prime Ministers P V Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekher, and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh.
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Against this background, it was not surprising when copies of the letter written by Pawar, P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were being distributed to mediapersons on Sunday by a supporter of Chandra Shekher.
The joining of hands by former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar is seen as only a boost to the grand political realignment that will be centred around Sharad Pawar.
The move would be set off only after Pawar floats a new party. Mulayam