It was compulsion for Katihar MP Tariq Anwar to distance himself from NCP president Sharad Pawar’s comments on Rafale and his defence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Anwar, who apart from quitting NCP also resigned his Lok Sabha seat, was last elected from Katihar in 2014 but he has a long association of nearly four decades with this Muslim concentrated seat in Seemanchal region of Bihar. Earlier he won this seat four times on Congress ticket.
His family belongs to Munger – his father and grandfather was also lawmakers – Tariq preferred Katihar at the behest of his mentor Sitaram Kesari and was first elected in 1980 after an unsuccessful attempt in 1977.
The very next day when Pawar “defended” Modi in Rafale matter, Anwar thought it fit to resign from the party. The decision might have been taken in haste but after much consideration. Katihar has a very thick Muslim population of around 40 per cent and even a slight praise or defence of Modi by the NCP might cost Anwar dearly. He tours his constituency very regularly and after Pawar’s “clean chit” to the PM, Anwar would not dare to face his voters.
Only a few days back he was in Katihar and fully realised that Muslims’ apathy towards Modi has increased manifold in his constituency.
The election 2019 is not far away. The only option before Anwar was to quit the party he along with Pawar and P A Sangma had formed in 1999 after raising the foreign origin of Sonia Gandhi who became AICC president after removing Kesari.
Sources said it was more the humiliation of Kesari than Sonia’s origin that forced Anwar to quit Congress in which he held top posts like president of Bihar Congress, national president of Youth Congress and Seva Dal and once was seriously considered to be made Chief Minister of Bihar.
In Bihar, the NCP neither has any base nor a cadre but it was only due to Anwar that the party created a niche for itself in Seemanchal region wining a few assembly seats in the past and one parliament seat in 2014. “In Bihar NCP means Tariq Anwar,” said his close aide Anil Kishore Jha. He said Anwar won Katihar in 2014 on his own and not due to symbol and he could win without a symbol in 2019 too. The NCP contributed in his career by sending him to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2010 and making him a Minister of State in Manmohan Singh led UPA-II.
His supporters said it was a wise decision by Anwar and any delay in moving ahead would have been disastrous for him. Anwar, though, keeping his next plan a secret it is well known that he would go back to Congress. In the past he had very cordial relations with Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi but not so cordial with Rajiv Gandhi. However, it is said that he has got closer to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in recent times.