A month later, I sought an interview with Pawar in the wake of the Gujarat earthquake. Giving a time post-lunch, he asked me to arrive a little early. He was expecting a guest over lunch but was not sure he would turn up. If the guest didn’t, Pawar explained, he would see me earlier.Pawar’s guest did turn up and I waited in his lobby for my turn. Later, as I opened the door between the lobby and the drawing room, I was surprised to find Ajit Wadekar taking Pawar’s leave. Wadekar was equally shocked because barely a month ago when I met him, he had abused Pawar. Why was he now having lunch with Pawar? “What are you doing here!” he exclaimed as both Pawar and his secretary listened in. Later, I asked Pawar how he had managed to bring a sworn enemy to his table. His answer was a revelation.Normally an unforgiving man, who everybody is afraid to cross, his love of cricket was apparent when he said there were too many faction fights in the MCA that was destroying the game. So, he had decided to bring all factions together on one table to sort out their differences.The Shiv Sena had tried to torpedo his election to the MCA by throwing the rule book at him. The MCA Constitution forbade outsiders from contesting. Pawar, who had always been a voter in Baramati, promptly had his name deleted from the electoral roll in his village and became a voter in Mumbai to avoid further controversy.
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