Sugar politics sours alliance?

The skirmish over sugar prices is adding a new hurdle to the already turbulent Congress-NCP alliance. NCP chief Sharad Pawar denied that he had been sent a letter by the Congress president asking him to control sugar prices.

"I haven't got any letter from Sonia Gandhi. Anybody can write a letter to me," he said.
Instead, Pawar said he had warned of this crisis.

"I had made it very clear that unless we do not consciously try to curb the rise and don't make that policy decision soon, then two years later if prices do not reach Rs 25-30 then I won't be surprised. I had made this statement in parliament and its part of the parliamentary records two years ago," Pawar said.

Pawar's statement comes on the day when he met his party leaders to plan seat sharing with the Congress. He says the NCP is still in talks with the Congress, but the ball is in the Congress' court.

"We are currently in the discussion stage with the Congress. In the next few days we will get a clearer picture from the Congress," he said.

And as both the parties bargain hard for more seats, there will be other proxies like the sugar prices for sabre rattling.