The recent schism in the ties between the Congress and the NCP has been further deepened by the alleged unilateral selection of a candidate for the post of the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman.
Sources said NCP chief Sharad Pawar-- already miffed with the apparent change in the Cabinet’s pecking order-- has been left fuming over his party being kept in the dark over the move to pick Congress MP P J Kurien for the post.
Pawar, who is keen to elevate senior leader Tariq Anwar as the RS Deputy Chairman, is even understood to have suggested the latter’s name to the UPA leadership. According to sources, Pawar was unhappy with the unilateralism shown by the Congress in choosing Kurien. The Deputy Chairman’s post has been lying vacant since the end of previous incumbent Rahman Khan’s tenure in April.
Meanwhile, an NCP leader said this was one of the issues that had become an irritant in the Cong-NCP ties.