Miffed Suresh Kalmadi sets terms for backing Pune candidate

PUNE: Denied the party ticket, Pune MP Suresh Kalmadi wants the Congress high command to accede to some of his demands for his support to party nominee Vishwajeet Kadam. Two prime conditions that Kalmadi is believed to have put forth are the immediate revocation of his suspension from the party and an honourable rehabilitation in Congress' organizational set-up.

Kalmadi issued a veiled threat to the leadership on Friday saying many parties had approached him. "BJP has not yet announced its candidate," he reminded party leaders at a press conference. In the same breath, he clarifi ed that no one from BJP had approached him. He continues to be a "loyal Congressman".

His supporters said Kalmadi was walking a tightrope. He doesn't want to stretch things too far to antagonize the high command. But he is pressuring them over his suspension and rehabilitation. He is probably eyeing an entry into Parliament through the Rajya Sabha, they said. "Sureshbhai knows every seat is important for Congress and that the party cannot win Pune if he works against Kadam," a Kalmadi loyalist told TOI. "If he doesn't bargain now, when will he?"

The message sent out by Kalmadi's muscle-fl exing seems to have reached the Congress which sent its emissary, state minister Harshavardhan Patil, to meet the Pune MP on Friday. Sources said both Vishwajeet Kadam and his father, state minister Patangrao Kadam, called on Kalmadi. Though Kalmadi refused to reveal what transpired during his closed-door meeting with Patil and the Kadams, sources said he made it clear that the party cannot keep him out in the cold and at the same time seek his blessings for the Pune candidate.

Sources said Kalmadi is sore over the denial of the party nomination to him or his wife, but is not yet ready to contest as an independent. Though he interacted with the media, he held his cards close to his chest. "I have completed talks with just half my supporters. I will take a call on my next move after consulting all of them," he said.

Asked whether he was attempting to pressure 10 Janpath, Kalmadi shot back: "How can I pressure them?" He said the party had been unjust to him. "They have given a ticket to Pavan Bansal. They have sought support from Lalu Prasad's party. Compared to these people, I have at least not been convicted. My case is still at the trial stage," he said with reference to his alleged involvement in the CWG scam.