Click to play videoBhubhneswar: After 72 hours of will he, won't he, Sharad Pawar did not keep his promise. He has been saying that he'd share the stage with Naveen Patnaik and even Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan.
But as the crowds waited in Bhubaneswar, Pawar did not take off from Nashik. His party said that Pawar’s plane couldn't take off . The immobile Pawar used his mobile to make a long distance address.
“My plane has developed a technical snag, next time I'll come when Naveen Patnaik holds a rally,” he said.
Pawar may visit Orissa soon because he has to keep the Congress guessing. He is trying to position himself as a Prime Minister in waiting. It was the very thought of his meeting with the Third Front that made the Congress fret and fume.
Chidambarm warned gently, while Sonia mocked the Third Front. For now at least, Pawar seems to have been tamed.
“There is no third proposal. We are with the UPA. If the UPA does not get adequate number of seats, then we will pull all secular parties together,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NCP said that the Bhubaneshwar rally was not really a third front rally and so did Biju Janata Dal .
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has made it very clear that his party BJD is not in any front and any decision on this will be taken after the elections.
But whether it was by design or accident, the Pawar moves have succeeded in keeping everyone on the edge of their seats. For Pawar knows he can be both king and king maker.
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