Pawar to share stage with Third Front

In what is likely to take the elections by storm, rather a tsunami, Sharad Pawar has confirmed to NDTV that he will join a rally with leaders of the Third Front.

The rally is to be held in Bhubaneswar on Friday and Sharad Pawar will be on the same stage as Naveen Patnaik, Prakash Karat, Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders of the front.

But the ramifications of Sharad Pawar holding hands with Third Front leaders are likely to be much deeper than the headlines. It could shake the political equations of these elections. 

NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar says: "We have an understanding with the Left parties and NCP.  Due to that alliance we are attending that meeting. Sharad Pawar will also be present there."

Sharad Pawar is both a crucial UPA ally, as well as one of India's most significant mass leaders, who holds a solid grip over the voters in the sugar belt of western Maharashtra. And for the Congress, Pawar could be the difference between being in power and out of power.

For years, Sharad Pawar has been known to have a not-so-secret ambition of becoming the Prime Minister. He has even said so on a number of occasions.

This time Pawar is clearly keeping his options open. If he is going to be Prime Minister, the Congress is by no means a sure path to the top. As a leader he is known to be intensely political and can sense the way the votes are swinging. The rise of the Third Front may be an optional road to being the Prime Minister of India. It may be plan B, but it's clearly an option.