How times change! The first few years following 1999 when the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was spawned witnessed many instances of Congress bending over backwards to keep its ally in good humour. Now fast forward to yesterday, when Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan turned up 25 minutes late at a 4 pm meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar leaves Sahyadri guesthouse yesterday following a lengthy meeting with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Pic/Sameer Markande