Ashok Chavan leads race for Maharashtra CM's post

ON HIS RESUME: Ashok Chavan is an MLA from Nanded and the state's industries minister.

ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Read news, watch videos
be a Citizen Journalist. Log on to m.ibnlive.com NOW!

Related Stories

• Ashok Chavan new front-runner for Maharashtra CM

• Next Maharashtra chief minister to be announced

• Latest casualties in Mumbai siege: Deshmukh, Patil

Top Headlines

Top Videos

Most Popular

• AI stuffs extra passengers on a flight, faces action 

• Obama sees G8 climate progress, UN disagrees 

• Infosys declares Q1 results, net profit falls by 5.33 pc 

• FTN: Religious heads' straight take: gays are immoral 

• Gujarat dry status an ideological hangover? 

• Manmohan meets Obama during G8 meeting 

• Pawar says India well-stocked for 13 months 

• Manmohan, Gilani fix up meeting without a date 

• India puts it in writing: Pak planned 26/11 

• Burger King apologises to Hindus for offensive ad 

• MP drought-hit 

• Sariska tigers siblings, incest dangerous: Experts 

• 2016 Games contenders go all out to woo voters 

• Watch: Zardari admits to nurturing terrorists 

• SC takes up plea against gay sex, issues notice 

• CJ: Delhi-based builders make off with money 

• Pune reels under 40 per cent water cuts 

• RTI against college lands DCE student in trouble 

• Sports officer attacked for fighting corruption 

• Watch: Ferreira talks about sports and Union Budget 

• Burger King apologises to Hindus for offensive ad 

• India puts it in writing: Pak planned 26/11 

• Another 'lover' arrested at Sania Mirza's house 

• Meet Lt Colonel Mohanlal, first actor to join Army  

• Religious heads straight take: gays are immoral 

• Gujarat dry status an ideological hangover? 

• Pawar says India well-stocked for 13 months 

• Mysore: PFI activists clash with police, lathicharged 

• Suspected Dawood aide acquitted in fake currency case 

• Manmohan, Gilani fix up meeting without a date 

Photogallery

Find us on Facebook | Join IBNLive community

Stay ahead with G-Talk Buddy | Click now!

New Delhi: Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is out of the race for the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s post and state Industries Minister Ashok Chavan is the frontrunner for the job now, sources tell CNN-IBN.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony will meet Congress MLAs in Mumbai on Thursday to select the new Chief Minister after Vilasrao Deshmukh resigned on Wednesday night following last week's terrorist attack in Mumbai.

State politicians Balasaheb Vikhe Patil and Narayan Rane are other names doing the rounds for the post, but it is almost certain that Shinde and Union Minister Prithviraj Chavan are now out of the running.

Sources tell CNN-IBN no central minister will be made Chief Minister.

Ashok Chavan, the industry minister of Maharashtra, has emerged as the frontrunner. Chavan is an MLA from Nanded and the son of the late S B Chavan, who was twice chief minister of the state.

The state’s top political post fell vacant after Deshmukh was asked to resign by his party. "Deshmukh has been asked to resign,” said Antony, who is in charge of Congress’ Maharashtra affairs, in Delhi on Wednesday evening.

Deshmukh was under pressure to quit in the aftermath of the November 26 terrorist attack, especially after Shivraj Patil resigned as Union home minister on Sunday, taking moral responsibility for the failure to prevent the terrorist strike, followed by R.R. Patil who had to quit as the state's deputy chief minister and home minister.

Called to New Delhi, Deshmukh met Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday and offered his resignation, but the party arrived at the decision only late Wednesday.