Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan may have been shown the door as soon as US President Barack Obama took off for Indonesia, but the Congress is grappling with the question of whom to replace him with.
The peculiar situation of the party, in terms of numbers, both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, is weighing heavily on the high command, according to sources. ?The government is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha and is delicately poised in the Lok Sabha. Any change in the numbers would certainly make the situation difficult in the Rajya Sabha and to a certain extent, in the Lok Sabha. Therefore, to despatch anyone from Delhi will be a difficult proposition,? said a senior official of the party.
Of all the likely candidates doing the rounds since the Adarsh Society scam first emerged, former chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde have more or less been ruled out, since their names could be linked to the scam as it dates back to their tenures. Minister for science and technology Prithviraj Chavan, though considered one of candidates best suited for the job, is considered to be indispensible to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, said, ?Maharahstra should get a chief minister with a clean image,? making it clear that even a shadow of doubt of involvement in the scam could rule a leader out of the race. ?There are mainly three names from Maharashtra doing the rounds, senior ministers in the Chavan government like Patang Rao Kadam, Balasaheb Thorat and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil,? said a source.
?Of these, whoever is able to project a modern, clean image, is able to converse with the hoi polloi and the industrialists will be chosen,? said the source. Senior leaders AK Antony and Pranab Mukherjee will be in Mumbai for a late night huddle with Congress legislators in Maharashtra to ascertain their choice, before the final choice is left to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Meanwhile, Chavan?s resignation diffused the sharpness of the Opposition?s attack on the government on the issue of corruption at the beginning of the Winter Session of Parliament. The Lok Sabha saw regular business being conducted while the Rajya Sabha was adjourned after orbituary references. Leader of the Opposition, Sushma Swaraj, however, refused to accept that Chavan?s resignation let the government off the hook. ?This is just one man, what about Suresh Kalmadi, Sheila Dikshit, Jaipal Reddy and A Raja? This government is riddled with corruption and we want action on all those guilty,? she said.