Following the Bhagwat episode in Parliament, pressure was mounted on Sonia Gandhi by a section of the Congress that Pawar be removed from the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The Maratha leader was of the view that the party should ask for a discussion on the sack of the former navy chief instead of demanding a general debate on corruption in defence deals, since Bhagwat had not made specific allegations like Mohan Guruswamy. The Congress had been demanding a general discussion on corruption in defence deals.

Pawar told The Indian Express,``That stage is gone when I am pining for a position in Parliament or in government.What is the use of power if one is not able to change the face of the country?''

In an unusual move, Pawar had taken a group of senior journalists to his constituency Baramati to see his work, even though elections in Maharashtra are several months away. He acted as a gracious host to them for 48 hours, personally taking the group everywhere to show the institutions he has built over the years, transforming his drought prone constituency.

It is too early to say whether Pawar has begun to position himself as an alternative focus in the party, or is merely trying to signal the Congress High Command that he is in no mood to take things lying down if an attempt is made to sideline him.

One way to do so would be to send him back to Maharashtra as was done by Narasimha Rao. Pawar admitted that he had returned to Mumbai five years ago ``very reluctantly''. First he had said a ``polite no'' to Narasimha Rao and finally agreed ``after Rao spent six hours with me arguing that I go...and I had to finallyaccept.''

There has been unhappiness in the party in recent weeks over the leadership's handling of Bihar, the resignation of J B Patnaik and the Bhagwat affair. While there is no challenge to Sonia Gandhi's leadership, some partymen are looking for alternative shoulders to cry on. Pawar's assertiveness and the welcome given to Narasimha Rao on his arrival from Houston yesterday are straws in the wind and indicate an unease in the party.As a result, there is a lack of coherence evident in the party on whether or not to go in for the kill to bring down the Vajpayee Government in this session of Parliament. Many senior party leaders feel that the Congress should try and form an alternative government now. If the Winter Assembly elections in nine states are so crucial, then they should be conducted with the Congress in the saddle in Delhi.

However, others, and this includes Pawar, are not so sure. He feels it would be better first to test the waters in the forthcoming Assembly elections.Pawar's statementafter the latest massacre in Jehanabad that Rabri should step down was calculated to throw a spanner in the works of the Congress trying to form an alternative government now. Other Congress leaders, including Arjun Singh and Shivraj Patil, were left with no other option but to follow suit to try and distance the party from the Rabri regime.Pawar is clear that the revival of the Congress is contingent on the marginalisation of the Third Force. He has already demanded the exit of Rabri Devi and told this correspondent that unlike the last election, the Congress would not go in for an alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav in Maharashtra this time.

``The real problem before the Congress is the Third Force. If the Congress really wants to revive, it is the duty of the party to marginalise them,'' he said, ``There has to be a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP, as happened in the three States which went to the polls recently. The Third Force is diverting and dividing the secular votes. A polarisation isalso the way to fight the BJP.''

While maintaining that the country ``is now heading for elections'' either along with the State Assembly elections year end or soon thereafter, Pawar said the Congress should concentrate ``totally'' on reviving the party in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, UP and Bihar.

Though defending the Congress's decision not to vote alongside the BJP on President's rule in Bihar, he admitted that the Congress had consequently suffered a ``setback'' and said that ``for sometime now, it is not going to be easy to revive the party in Bihar''.

The Congress should think of alliances only at poll time. ``A temporary strategy is one thing, where we may have to form a government in alliance with others if the present ministry collapses; and a long term policy another, where we must plan to revive the party. This was decided in Pachmarhi.''