Hectic closed-door parleys were held to prepare for formation of the next government, a day after Congress-NCP rode back to power for the third time in a row.
After its victory in Maharashtra, Congress today announced that its Legislature Party will meet here tomorrow to elect a new leader to set in motion the process to choose the next chief minister amid indications that incumbent Ashok Chavan is the frontrunner.
Hectic closed-door parleys were held to prepare for formation of the next government, a day after Congress-NCP rode back to power for the third time in a row.
Congress (82) and NCP (62), who are ruling the state since 1999, together bagged 144 seats in a House of 288 and are one short of a simple majority.
Defence minister AK Antony, who is Congress general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra, deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha K Rehman Khan and senior leader Digvijay Singh have been named AICC observers who will oversee the process to elect the new Congress Legislature Party(CLP) leader.
MPCC president Manikrao Thakre said that the CLP will meet at 3pm at Vidhan Bhavan in South Mumbai.
"All party MPs from the state as well as Independent MPs who are associate members of Congress have been invited for the meeting," he said.
Chavan was at his official residence `Varsha' throughout the day, holding discussions with party MLAs and also Independents who called on him. State NCP president RR Patil also called on Chavan who turns 51 next Wednesday.
The name of Vilasrao Deshmukh for chief ministership was also doing the rounds but the Union minister, who met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi, maintained he not was in contention for the top job.
"No question of it. I am a minister at the Centre," Deshmukh said when asked to comment on reports that he was also staking his claim for the chief minister's post.
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