NT EXCLUSIVE: When Sharad Pawar sneaked into Belagavi as a cleaner

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar raised many an eyebrow when he held a secret meeting with Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) leaders in Jyoti College in Belagavi city on Thursday. Pawar had also attended the diamond jubilee function of Maratha Bank on the same day wherein MES workers raised antiKarnataka slogans, irking many Kannadigas.

However, it doesn’t come as a surprise for those who have been following Pawar’s history of proMaharashtra politics and his support for Belagavi’s inclusion in Maharashtra. Way back in 1986, a still fiery Pawar, in his late 40s, had vowed to unfurl the MES flag in Belagavi, prompting preventative measures by the Karnataka administration.

However, a wily Pawar outfoxed police officials and sneaked into the north Karnataka city from Maharashtra onboard a truck disguised as a cleaner. A senior officer posted in Belagavi at the time narrated the tale. “Sharad Pawar had declared that he would unfurl the MES flag in Belagavi city.

MES has been demanding the inclusion of Belagavi in Maharashtra. His declaration sent the district administration and Karnataka government into a frenzy. At that time, there was a Janata Party government led by Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde.

“We had ordered a naaka bandi (blockade) on the borders and had alerted top officers including the Tehsildar. In our arrogance, we thought we had thwarted him. Little did we know, he had sneaked into the state on a truck disguised as a cleaner,” he said.

Maharashtra political heavyweight Sharad Pawar has always supported the demand for the inclusion of Belagavi in Maharashtra. In 1986, he had sent the Karnataka administration into tizzy when he announced that he would unfurl Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti’s (MES) flag in Belagavi.

Though the state government had sealed the borders to prevent his entry, the wily politician, who was in his late 40s at that time, crossed the border posing as truck cleaner. A senior officer posted in Belagavi at the time said that Pawar had fellow Maratha sympathisers in high places and based in Belagavi who harboured him and helped him execute his plan.

“There had been a former ambassador who lived on Club Road near Hotel Milan. He had been a Marathi gentleman. Pawar had been hiding inside the ambassador’s house and biding his time. The next morning, some 10 to 12 people came out of the house. “Being led by Sharad Pawar, they started shouting proMES slogans.

Everyone was shocked! Kannada groups also got involved. There was a law and order situation. Casualties were also reported. Section 144 (prohibition of the gathering of more than four people) was imposed. Of course, Pawar was held and he confessed to us that he had sneaked into Belagavi onboard a truck in disguise. Unfortunately however, rioting prevailed for a couple of days,” he added.

Recent Kannadiga outreach This radical Marathi manus act of Pawar is in stark contrast to his current politics. It is telling that the NCP chief chose to travel to Kittur town, once the seat of Rani Channamma’s power and unveil the celebrated queen’s statue on the very same day he met MES leaders.

Pawar had hailed the queen as an inspiration, which was seen as a bid to woo Lingayats and Kannadigas based in Maharashtra. On April 18, he also inaugurated the NCP office in Banaswadi in Bengaluru. Interestingly, he chose to not breach