The neta speaks.
"There is no water. Then what do we release? Should I urinate in the dam?"
His sprawl of minions laugh in sycophantic unison.
The neta pauses. The giggles subside. His lackeys hanker for more.
"And when we are not getting water to drink, it won't be easy to pass urine."
A slight pause. And on cue, the dolts chuckle again with delight.
Funny. That's what the followers thought of their leader's pedestrian humour. A leader who happens to be the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar.
But here's how his critics and many within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) itself, describe him. Arrogant. Power-hungry. Unsophisticated. And now - two additions: Crass and Heartless.
Water. That's all that Bhaiyya Deshmukh, a poor farmer from Solapur - one of the worst drought-hit districts in Maharashtra - was demanding, sitting on his nearly two-month long protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. But Mr Pawar thought it was fine to ridicule and mock a demand that not only Mr Deshmukh but millions of Maharashtrians are making. The same hapless citizens who have lost their crops and have been forced to beg for water as the state struggles to tackle what's claimed to be the "worst drought since 1972". (
Watch)
So where does this "I-am-King-you-are-Slave" attitude spring from? Feared by most and disliked by many within his own party, junior Pawar has largely himself and his brash style of politics to blame. Those close to him claim, his "no-nonsense" temperament and frankness are misinterpreted as "arrogance". But his propaganda team tom-toms this brashness as an asset, comparing him with Raj Thackeray. (The irony is that the masses love it too. Remember Bal Thackeray? His speeches were laced with the choicest of Marathi-abuses.)
Others insist, intoxicated by power, the 53-year-old, no longer enjoys an easy relationship with his uncle, the super-shrewd Sharad Pawar. No wonder he also doesn't get along with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan or even many of the senior members of his own party, the NCP.
As Ajit Pawar nurses his political dreams, what he fears most is the 'shame' of failure. It was largely under his leadership that Rs 70,000 crores were spent on irrigation projects which yielded little relief from the acute water scarcity. The media, activists and the opposition all screamed of a scam and he resigned from his post only to be re-instated after a farcical white paper "cleared" him. He also holds the Finance portfolio and the state today is reeling under a staggering debt which is nearing Rs 3 lakh crores.
This ugly new "crude" tag will stick to the man, but despite this current outrage and his failures, Mr Pawar will get re-elected in 2014. And he knows that. We chose the man we really deserve.
But just a reminder: to have some finesse in speech, to be able to converse also in English, to have a genuine interest in arts and culture and a mind refined enough for intellectual debates, are not qualities the electorate are hoping to see in our politicians. Anyway, Ajit Pawar does not really aspire to all of the above.
If senior Pawar once dreamed of being India's Prime Minister, junior Pawar fancies himself as the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Back at the rally, the neta raises the pitch.
"I have also come to know that since there is a shortage of electricity, the population is increasing. After all, what does one do if there is no power? When you are idle you engage in making babies"
The neta pauses. The crowd roars.
Jai Maharashtra.
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