Congress may axe Chavan from post in Maharashtra assembly

NEW DELHI: Prithviraj Chavan may lose the leadership of Congress in Maharashtra assembly, disappointed as the central leadership is in his performance as chief minister.
Chavan may make way for either Balasaheb Thorat or Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, both Marathas and ministers in the NCP-Congress government. According to informed sources, it could be a three-legged race if Harshvardhan Patil too wins the election.Chavan himself won his first assembly election from Karad South.
The likelihood of Prithviraj’s departure is significant. If the party manages to emerge with its nose ahead of NCP, with the see-saw in their tally continuing till late evening, it may get the crucial post of leader of opposition in the assembly.
That would mean the Congress chief minister of four years may not be in the saddle to lead the party’s charge against the BJP government as also to be its face in the future.
If Congress does vote against Chavan as seems the plan, it would be responding to the voices of dissent against the former CM that grew after he settled in the top chair and reached a climax after the party’s decimation in Lok Sabha elections.
The leadership could not eject him after the Lok Sabha polls. Sources said the party was willing to go along with the demand of the partymen, which incidentally was also ally NCP’s non-negotiable demand as it threatened to part ways. But Chavan survived because NCP and Congress could not agree on a consensus candidate from the Congress stable. Either Thorat or Vikhe Patil would have got the nod had the NCP agreed.
The party seems keen to make amends now when it feels that it has to work harder on the ground to win back the confidence of the voters besides rejuvenating the demoralized workers.