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Congress, NCP in a wrangle over choice of CM

The Congress continued to grapple with the leadership crisis in Maharashtra, unable to decide on a successor to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh till late Tuesday night.

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Deshmukh survives another day as Pawar is unhappy with names proposed

NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: The Congress continued to grapple with the leadership crisis in Maharashtra, unable to decide on a successor to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh till late Tuesday night. It became clear that the NCP leadership had to approve of the candidate.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with defence minister AK Antony, who is in charge of party affairs in Maharashtra, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and AICC general secretary Ahmed Patel.

Emerging from the late night meeting, Antony said, “No decision has been taken yet.” Though he did not rule out a change of guard, he didn’t make any comments on Deshmukh’s continuing in the chair either. “We are still exploring all options,” was all he divulged.

Deshmukh who was summoned to Delhi had a 90-minute discussion with Sonia. “I have explained my stance on the administrative decisions taken during the siege and the measures the government has taken in the past,” he said.  He also expressed regret at the visit to Taj hotel in the company of film director Ram Gopal Varma. “I respect the sentiments of people. I wish this incident could have been averted,” he said.

There were hectic political parleys in both the Congress and NCP camps. Ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Congress does not want to pick a chief minister without seeking the consent of NCP president Sharad Pawar. The NCP has already shot down two candidates proposed by the Congress — state industry minister Ashok Chavan and union minister Prithiviraj Chavan.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, the NCP held a meeting chaired by union civil aviation minister Praful Patel. The party’s state unit passed a resolution, leaving it to Pawar to decide the next deputy chief minister and home minister. RR Patil had resigned as deputy chief minister and home minister on Monday following orders from Pawar.

Patel held a separate meeting with cabinet ministers to gauge their views. A majority of them are for Chhagan Bhujbal as deputy chief minister and home minister. Water resources minister Ajit Pawar has already turned down the offer to step in as home minister. “If the Congress decides on a dalit chief minister, we will pitch for a Maratha home minister. If they go in for a Maratha chief minister, we will settle for a home minister deputy chief minister representing other backward castes (OBC). The choice is between Bhujbal and Jayant Patil,” an NCP official said.

Throughout the day the big question everyone in both camps was asking was: Will Deshmukh go or survive? Both politicians and bureaucrats were engaged in saving Deshmukh’s chair. Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is not keen on returning to Maharashtra as chief minister. There are few options left.
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