M A I N   N E W S

Deshmukh: quintessential Cong man
Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, October 30
Known for his survival skills, it surprises none in the Congress that Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh is back as Maharashtra Chief Minister. Even as many of his rivals in the Congress wrote him off after he was asked to quit as Chief Minister two years ago, Mr Deshmukh was writing his comeback tale. 

Quietly networking with the powerful Maratha community in the state, Mr Deshmukh played a major role in the distribution of ticket to ensure that his supporters got the winning seats.

Simultaneously, he sent out the message that former Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had sold out to Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar by letting the NCP contest from a large number of traditional Congress seats. Mr Deshmukh suddenly saw his stock go up when the NCP’s tally rose above the Congress.

Immediately the entire Maratha lobby in the Maharashtra Congress pulled out the knives for Mr Shinde, a Dalit.

Reports from New Delhi say, Mr Deshmukh whispered the right words to the party high command and Mr Shinde was soon transformed from a winner to a poor strategist.

Shortly after it became clear that the Congress would have its own Chief Minister, Mr Deshmukh told all and sundry that he was in the race for the big job. His troubleshooters then got 55 Congress MLAs to send faxes to Mrs Sonia Gandhi complaining of their lack of confidence in Mr Shinde.

Luckily for Mr Deshmukh, Mrs Gandhi decided to go by the wishes of the party MLAs and chose not to press for Mr Shinde as Chief Minister despite his closeness to the family that was evident in the speed in which he was appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh today.

For Mr Deshmukh, a feudal lord from the impoverished Latur district in Marathwada, his ascent to the top post marks his continued rise in politics. Known for his fondness for white kurtas and whiter stallions he rides around his estate. He has placed himself as the Marathas’ pointsman in the Congress.

At 59, he is now setting his sights in the post-Sharad Pawar phase of the Maharashtra politics. He is also expected to use his administrative acumen to good effect. He has held key portfolios like Revenue, Cooperation, Agriculture, Home, Industries and Education in earlier state ministries right from 1982.