In a jolt to the Congress, former chief minister Abdul Rehman Antulay lashed out at the party, calling its vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, "immature". He also declared his support for Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) candidates from Raigad and Maval constituencies.
Antulay, 85, who enjoys the support of Maharashtrian Muslims, especially Marathi-speaking Konkani Muslims, and even Hindus on the Konkan coast, is miffed at being sidelined in the party and at his traditional Raigad Lok Sabha seat being surrendered to the NCP.
In 2009, Antulay, who was the Union minority affairs minister, was defeated by Shiv Sena's Anant Gite here. Gite then had the support of the PWP. The PWP nominees this time are former NCP men, Ramesh Kadam (Raigad) and Laxman Jagtap (Maval).
Once the stormy petrel of state politics, Antulay, a four-term Lok Sabha MP, was a staunch Indira loyalist, and had played a pivotal role in the formation of Congress (Indira). In fact, the party was formed in his 2, Janpath bungalow in Delhi then. He is now all praise for the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
"He (Rahul Gandhi) is not mature. There is little difference between Narendra Modi and Rahul. They are like the two sides of the same coin," Antulay, the only Muslim chief minister Maharashtra has had, told dna.
He is extremely disappointed at Raigad (formerly Kulaba), which he represented four times, being handed over to NCP's Sunil Tatkare (water resources minister) to contest from. In 2009, Congress had sacrificed Antulay's Srivardhan constituency for Tatkare.
Antulay, miffed at being not consulted, said: "In the Congress, all are ungrateful." He pointed out how he used to decide candidates after the formation of the Congress (I).
"I feel neither the Congress or the BJP will come to power. Someone like Deve Gowda (a consensus candidate from the third front) may become the PM," said Antulay, a barrister from Lincoln's Inn in London, who had friends across the political spectrum including late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. In fact, Balasaheb campaigned for him during the assembly by-election in Srivardhan.
The maverick, who was known for his post-midnight visits to keep an eye on the law and order situation, had to step down as the CM in 1982 after allegations of having favoured donors to the Indira Gandhi Pratibha Prathisthan in granting cement quotas.
During his tenure, Antulay, who found himself in the powerful Maratha lobby's cross-hairs, had promised to bring Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's famous 'Bhawani' sword back from the UK.
"I have given them (PWP) my blessings. That I have been sidelined is obvious. The entire district has been surrendered to the NCP. How would you feel when someone takes over your house?" asked Antulay.
"I feel they (AAP) got 28 seats (in Delhi) due to the love people have for them. They worked well in the 39 days they were in power. They did not stick to power," said Antulay, who had kicked up a storm by alluding to the role of Hindu fundamentalists in the death of ATS chief Hemant Karkare in the 26/11 terror attacks.
dhaval.kulkarni@dnaindia.net
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