NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday failed to join a BJD-Left-NCP rally in Bhubaneswar owing to an aircraft "technical" problem, but told the public meeting over phone from Nashik in Maharashtra that he wanted to attend it.
"I would have liked to address the rally but could not because of a technical snag in the aircraft," Pawar, who has been under attack from Congress after it was announced that he would be joining the rally, said over phone.
Amidst drama, CPI national secretary D Raja told the joint public meeting that Pawar would address them over phone.
Thereafter, NCP state president and cine star Prasanta Nanda held a cellphone near the microphone as Pawar was heard saying that he could not attend the gathering due to a problem in the aircraft that was scheduled to fly him.
Earlier, NCP general secretary and chief spokesperson D P Tripathy said, "Efforts to arrange another plane was not successful."
Maintaining that Pawar's inability to make it to the rally should not be interpreted "differently", Tripathy said he was present at the joint rally as an NCP representative.
Tripathy said Pawar was scheduled to visit Bhubaneswar either on April 7 or 8 depending on BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's availability.
Both the leaders would also address a joint press conference, he said.
Earlier, the NCP chief told NDTV that he will address the rally on the phone, reiterating the fact that he is not with the Third Front.
"The NCP-Congress alliance is still on. This is not a Third Front rally but a BJD rally," said Pawar.
The leader has said that he is not making attempts to avoid the rally.
Reacting to Pawar's statement that he is still with the UPA, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that they have no reason for not believing Pawar.
"Pawar has made it clear he is with the UPA. We have no reason to disbelieve Pawar," said Sibal.
The rally is being seen as a move towards strengthening the Front.
Earlier, the Congress seemed to be hit hard with the possibility of Pawar joining that rally with the Left and Navin Patnaik.
Sonia Gandhi is lead the Congress party's public attack on Sharad Pawar for his decision to attend a Third Front rally in Bhubaneswar.
Speaking at a rally in Kendrapara in Orissa the Congress president made fun of the Third Front calling it opportunistic.
"Now another front is coming up. Sometimes there's a second front, sometimes there's a Third Front. Who knows who is joining these fronts and after election we'll see who stays with whom; who is loyal to whom," she said.
It seems that the Maratha strongman, who has his eye on the top job, wants to keep all his options open.
The Congress may be fuming at the increasing assertiveness of its regional partners, but it was the Congress that had in January rejected the idea of a national pre-poll alliance among the UPA partners.
So, is Lalu Yadav listening to Sonia Gandhi's jibe at attempts by her allies to form different fronts? The RJD chief is all set to have a strategy meet with his new found partners Ram Vilas Paswan and Mulayam Singh Yadav. The troika is meeting in Lucknow on Friday.
Just let it happen is the Third Front's thought perhaps because if it happens Friday, there is no guessing the impact that the sight of Sharad Pawar with Prakash Karat will have on these elections.
