Sharad Pawar looking for consensus rather than confrontation on land bill

NEW DELHI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar has a wellearned reputation of confounding foes and allies, and his stance on the land bill has done little to alter this impression. Having spurred speculation and concern in the government by playing host to likely opponents of the politically charged amendments to the bill, the canny Maratha conveyed that he is looking for consensus rather than confrontation.

The explanation has not washed with sceptical BJP members who also noted Shiv Sena's presence at the meeting. Given Sena's sense of hurt over ceding primacy to BJP in Maharashtra, the ally is perhaps receptive to Pawar's blandishments. As a senior minister in the UPA government, Pawar headed the group of ministers that examined the contentious bill and is understood to have had his share of misgivings which were superseded by the Congress leadership's strong push for the law.

His presence in the joint parliamentary committee examining the proposed NDA amendments has a political intent that may trump his instinctive unease with the UPA era law's stringent controls on land acquisition. Pawar seems to have swayed between seeing a need to facilitate acquisition for industry and the “pro-farmer" rhetoric being aggressively purveyed by Congress.

Keeping in mind the competitive element in NCP's ties with Congress, Pawar would be mindful of balancing his roots in agriculturally prosperous western Maharashtra with a reputation of being a modernizer.

Political sources feel that Pawar might be eyeing multiple objectives here. His channels with the government remain open -PM Modi has reached out to him more than any other opposition leader. On the other hand, he could form a pressure group with Trinamool Congress that is opposed to any acquisition of land by the government.

Pawar might also be bringing about a course correction of sorts, having offered unconditional support to BJP when the saffron party was looking for numbers after last year's Maharashtra poll. The move undercut Sena's bargaining power with BJP, an objective that the politically savvy NCP member felt was in his party's interest.