Polls keep Cong busy, Deshmukh gets another day

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New Delhi: Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh got another day’s reprieve on Wednesday as the matter of finding his replacement for the state got delayed because of the Congresss leadership’s preoccupation with campaigning in election going states as well as the sudden visit of US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.

Identifying a successor for Deshmukh, however, did not look an easy task with the party leadership conscious that they needed to find someone who could not only win the trust of the MLAs but also lead the coalition to victory in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Discussions on a suitable candidate for chief minister commenced late on Wednesday night with the NCP leadership after external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee got free from his engagement with Rice’s visit. Mukherjee along with defence minister AK Antony and Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Sonia Gandhi held talks with NCP leader Sharad Pawar where names were discussed.

Following the discussions with the NCP, the Congress leaders are expected to convey the outcome to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who herself will be coming in late after addressing election meetings in J&K.

That Deshmukh’s exit was a foregone conclusion, however, even though unanimity eluded on his successor, was indicated when the NCP leadership maintained that it would otherwise not have been called for discussions by the Congress leadership. ‘’Why would they want to take the opinion of NCP, if they wanted Vilasrao Deshmukh to continue,’’ a senior NCP leader cross-questioned this evening. The NCP, however, maintained that they had never been consulted in the earlier instances when both Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde were chosen as chief ministers.

Indications from the NCP camp, however, signalled that they might favour Shinde’s candidature for the post. Although the names of minister of state in the PMO, Prithviraj Chavan as well as Maharashtra industries minister Ashok Chavan too has been doing the rounds, the NCP does not seem too enthusiastic about their candidature. The NCP appears to think that Ashok Chavan’s ‘’not so clean’’ image will go against the coalition, while it is wary of Prithviraj Chavan as he is seen as an NCP baiter. ‘’The new chief minister will have to be someone who can take the enjoy everyone’s confidence,’’ a senior NCP leader said.

On its part, the NCP has already identified its candidate for the state home minister, in place of RR Patil. ‘’We will make an announcement only after the issue of chief minister is decided,’’ party leaders said. The NCP also intends to fill up three more vacancies that fall in its quota.