MUMBAI, June 8: Congress leader Sharad Pawar seemed to have prepared himself to face defeat in the party presidential polls scheduled for tomorrow when he told mediapersons he would surely win provided the election process was ``free and fair''.

``If the elections are held in a free and fair atmosphere, I am sure to win the election with a huge margin as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates want change in the party leadership,'' Pawar told mediapersons here today.

Though Pawar did not complain about large scale irregularities in the list of delegates or the possibility of rigging on the day of polling, he alleged that Congress President Sitaram Kesri, who is also in the fray, changed at least 12 Pradesh Returning Officers at the last moment. ``It was improper on his part to make these changes without consulting either the Central Returning Officer or the All India Congress Committee (AICC),'' he remarked.

Pawar said that during his seven-day election campaign, he found that most of the delegates wanted revival of the party at all levels and decentralisation of the AICC.

``Gone are the days, when the party was controlled by towering personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, who were in a position to influence the rank and file of the party. Today in the absence of such leaders in the party, the only alternative is to develop collective leadership. The need of the hour therefore is to decentralise the AICC and delegate more powers to State Congress Committees and District Congress Committees,'' Pawar said.

``I am confident that PCC delegates will agree with my proposal and vote for the revival of the party,'' he said when asked whether he would prefer exercise of conscience votes as pleaded by another rival, Rajesh Pilot.On senior leader Arjun Singh's allegation that he had failed to prevent the demolition of Babri Masjid and negotiated with communal forces, Pawar said he was surprised that Singh had raised the issue after so many years. ``I was defence minister then, not the home minister. I negotiated with the rival groups within the parameters of the Tirupati resolution adopted by the AICC, he said taking a dig at his arch rival S B Chavan.

When asked about his priorities if he were elected party president, Pawar said, ``I would want an aggressive approach towards constituents of the United Front in whichever State they may be ruling''. The Congress, he felt, has ``forgotten to take up agitational programmes for the public at large in the last few years which alone can galvanise the party cadre ''.

When his attention was drawn towards the Congress' poor performance in Maharashtra, Pawar said after the AICC elections, even the State unit will be galvanised against the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government.

However, while the fight against UF constituents would be waged at the state level, Pawar said the Congress should support the UF at the Centre in the interests of secularism and stability. Pawar ruled out the possibility of a split in the party after the organisational elections. ``After the elections, it will emerge as a more powerful party. Efforts will have to be made to restore the confidence of the minorities, the traditional base of the party,'' he added.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.