It was the infighting that relegated her public meeting to the tiny township of Pulgaon in Wardha district, a little over 100 km from here. Local Congressmen opined that a rally in a bigger town would not only have attracted a crowd much larger than today's 20,000, but would also have created a greater impact in the region.

It was the vocally anti-Pawar Member of the Legislative Assembly from Pulgaon, Prabha Rau, who managed to pull the public meeting to her constituency. Congressmen see it as another move to limit Pawar's influence. Rau, who is on the five-member central authority of the Congress for organisational elections, made it more than evident that this was her show. Local Member of Parliament Datta Meghe, an avowed Pawar loyalist, was forced to take the back seat. In fact, say Congressmen, Meghe had to force his way past the securityand clamber up to the dais. And since he did get there anyway, a chair was placed for him in the back row.

Rau adorned the dais by the side of `Madam', and pro-Pawar MLAs and local leaders were nowhere to be seen. ``Had Meghe and the others been involved, the rally would have been at least twice the size it was today,'' said a Congress worker. But Rau appeared more than satisfied with the attendance. ``I'm grateful to all of you,'' she told the crowd, ``for having come here despite the scorching heat.''

Last evening, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Prataprao Bhosale attempted to convince reporters that ``there is nothing anti-Pawar about it.'' He could not explain why Pulgaon was chosen as venue but stressed that the anti-Pawar business was entirely a media creation.