New Delhi, September 26
The UPA coordination committee is meeting here tomorrow at a time when the Congress is having problems with key ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The dust had barely settled after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee pulled out of the UPA that the ruling combine is faced with a crisis in Maharashtra where the ongoing confrontation between Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and NCP leader and deputy CM Ajit Pawar reached a flashpoint.

Angry over the recent rash of media reports about corruption in the irrigation department held by him, Ajit Pawar is insisting that his resignation from the deputy CM’s post be accepted.

The NCP leaders, which has never been happy with Chavan’s style of functioning, hold him responsible for the media campaign against Pawar.

The NCP would ideally like Chavan to be removed but the Congress has declined to do as it cannot afford to dislodge an honest CM under pressure from its allies.

The Congress says the Maharashtra crisis has its genesis in the ongoing internal turf war in the NCP. Though Ajit Pawar, who is Sharad Pawar’s nephew, was seen as his heir apparent,the situation changed after his daughter Supriya Sule entered politics. The differences between the uncle and the nephew became apparent today when NCP legislative party passed a resolution, urging Ajit Pawar to withdraw his resignation while Sharad pawar firm on his exit.

Ajit Pawar is credited with building the NCP’s state unit and his resignation is meant to showcase his following among the legislators and party cadres.

Chavan has so far not accepted Ajit Pawar’s resignation though NCP chief Sharad Pawar has told the Chief Minister to do so at the earliest. However, the other NCP ministers who had put in their papers in solidarity with Ajit Pawar have been told not to press their resignations.

While Sharad Pawar declared in Kolkata that his party would continue to support the Congress at the Centre and in Maharshtra, his party colleague, Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel launched a veiled attack against Prthivraj Chavan. Describing the charges against Ajit Pawar as baseless, Patel stated Chavan had failed to defend his coalition partner.

“ We feel the entire government in Maharashtra should stand up in solidarity when it is under attack and when baseless allegations are made against a minister,” Patel said, adding this is specially so since the CM is also the leader of the legislature party of the NCP and the Congress. Patel also said the NCP will not appoint a deputy CM in Maharashtra.

Although there is no immediate threat to the ruling combine at the Centre or the coalition government in Maharashtra, the latest political storm has rendered them vulnerable as it comes days after another partner Trinamool Congress severed its ties with the UPA government. At a time when the Congress needs all the friends it can find, it can ill-afford to alienate a reliable ally like the NCP.